& 


y 


THL  TOWN  OF 

5T  JOHNSBURY  VT 


A  REVIEW  OF 


ONE  HUNDRED  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 
to  the  Anniversary  Pageant  1912 


BY 

EDWARD  T.  FAIRBANKS 


"I  writ  it  also  out  of  great  good-will 
Unto  my  countrymen      *      *      * 

and  for  the  sake  of  those  that  may 
Not  yet  be  born ;  but  in  some  after  day 
May  make  good  use  of  it" 

T.  Mace 


ST.    JOHNSBURY 

THE    COWLES    PRESS 

MCMXIV 


COPYRIGHT   1914 
BY   BDWARD   T.    FAIRBANKS 


n 


0^  F  5<\ 

S!2F(4 


PREFATORY 

The  pages  that  follow  are  my  response  to  many  and  urgent 
requests  from  citizens  of  the  town.  They  are  finally  prepared 
under  the  auspices  of  the  St.  John  de  Crevecceur  Chapter  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

I  have  set  the  work  in  paragraphs,  a  series  of  sketches  not 
always  closely  related.  Material  is  not  at  hand  to  satisfy  our 
ideal  of  a  very  formal  town  history,  at  least  for  the  first  fifty 
years.  The  earlier  decades  are  comparatively  barren  of  interest- 
ing events  like  those  which  distinguish  the  history  of  many  of 
our  neighboring  towns.  For  this  reason  we  have  to  make  the 
most  of  what  we  have.  Herbert  Spencer's  rule  of  literary  com- 
position requires  that  we  secure  economy  of  the  reader's  atten- 
tion and  make  the  book  serve  two  main  ends — readability  and 
reference. 

During  its  first  half  century  St.  Johnsbury  had  no  con- 
spicuous rank  among  the  towns  of  the  County.  It  was  relatively 
an  unimportant  town  until  the  development  of  manufacturing  and 
educational  interests,  the  opening  of  the  Passumpsic  railroad  and 
the  transference  of  the  County  Seat  combined  to  give  it  leader- 
ship in  this  part  of  the  State. 

The  only  previous  attempt  at  making  a  history  of  the  town 
was  in  1860,  during  the  publication  of  the  Vermont  Historical 
Gazetteer.  At  that  time  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury  was  put  into 
my  hands  for  historical  treatment.  I  found  nothing  in  print 
except  a  paragraph  in  the  old  First  Church  manual.  The  first 
thing  done  was  to  interview  the  octogenarians  and  nonagenarians 
of  the  town,  during  which  interesting  process  sundry  floating 
items  were  picked  up.  But  the  prolific  source  of  information  was 
found  in  the  voluminous  discourse  and  the  manuscript  collections 
of  a  man  ninety  miles  away,  who  had  never  lived  here,  but  who 
knew  more  of  St.  Johnsbury  than  all  the  rest  of  us  put  together, 
and  whom  I  found  to  be 


JV&79863 


A   VERY  ACCOMMODATING      OLD   BEAR" 

This  was  Henry  Stevens,  a  native  of  Barnet ;  an  eccentric 
genius,  an  accomplished  antiquary,  founder  and  president  of  the 
Vermont  Historical  Society ;  into  whose  capacious  hopper  old 
traditions,  stories,  facts,  records,  letters,  documents  seemed  to 
flow  like  brooks  into  the  Passumpsic.  More  than  20,000  original 
letters  and  manuscripts  were  said  to  be  in  his  possession,  includ- 
ing the  secret  correspondence  of  the  Continental  Congress,  letters 
of  Ira  and  Ethan  Allen,  of  Dr.  Arnold,  of  St.  John  de  Crevecceur, 
and  others.  Many  of  these  were  secured  by  the  State  of  Vermont, 
but  the  British  Museum  bid  high  and  got  more  of  them,  to  the 
great  regret  of  all  true  Vermonters. 

Now  I  had  been  assured  that  Stevens  was  a  cross  old  bear, 
suspicious  of  any  body  interested  in  old  documents ;  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  get  sight  of  his  treasures,  still  less  inside 
his  den.  But  those  papers  of  his  were  simply  invaluable  for  the 
work  in  hand,  and  I  ventured  to  write  in  a  jocose  vein,  inquiring 
if  it  might  be  possible  to  consult  them  a  little.  I  think  it  due  to 
his  memory  that  the  first  pages  of  these  memoranda  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  should  include  his  reply  to  that  letter,  which  shows  that  in 
this  case  he  was  a  very  friendly  and  accommodating  old  bear. 

Burlington,  Oct.  10,  1860. 

"Dear  Sir  :  Your  letter  of  Oct.  2  received.  In  answer  to  a  portion  of 
it  as  to  making  a  visit  here  in  order  to  copy  MSS.  I  have  to  say — Mrs. 
Stevens  and  myself  occupy  a  comfortable  house.  I  have  to  say  further  that 
all  who  are  disposed  to  make  us  a  call  are  welcome.  We  will  set  the  table  in 
the  front  room  3  days.  After  that  time  we  dine  in  the  kitchen.  Three  days 
we  call  a  visit.  According  to  established  usage,  if  our  friends  stay  more 
than  3  days  it  is  expected  they  will  do  chores  night  and  morning.  We  find 
the  frock  or  apron  as  required.  Come  when  you  please.  Now  as  to 
historical  matters,"  etc. 

I  accepted  the  conditions,  was  very  cordially  received; 
ordered  my  frock  and  milking-stool  at  the  date  specified ;  stayed 
more  than  three  days  ;  made  lasting  friendship  with  the  antiquary. 
He  showed  me  all  I  asked  for  and  ever  so  much  more,  allowed 
me  to  copy  anything  I  wished,  but  on  no  condition  would  he  part 
with  the  least  bit  of  manuscript.  To  this  man's  hospitality  and 
friendliness  we  are  indebted  for  facts  and  incidents  not  obtainable 


elsewhere  relating  to  the  early  times  and  settlers.     And  so  ends 
as  good  a  bear  story  as  any  that  will  hereinafter  be  related. 

The  scope  of  this  book  includes  more  than  a  mere  record  of 
events.  Some  things  are  in  it  for  the  sake  of  variety.  Some 
pages  are  descriptive  only,  some  relatively  unimportant  items 
are  set  in  as  side  lights  on  the  times.  It  was  Macaulay  who  said 
that 

"No  anecdote  or  peculiarity  of  manner  or  familiar  saying  would  be  too 
insignificant  to  reproduce  the  character  and  .spirit  of  an  age,  and  give  to 
truth  the  attractions  that  have  long  been  usurped  by  fiction." 

On  this  principle  our  town  story  may  perhaps  be  made  inter- 
esting to  the  boys  and  girls,  and  even  to  the  stranger  that  is  not 
within  our  gates. 

Particular  attention  has  been  given  to  beginnings  and  early 
developments  of  whatever  has  come  under  review.  Fuller  details 
can  in  most  cases  be  obtained  at  the  Athenaeum  from  the  collec- 
tions of  town  memorabilia  which  I  have  deposited  there,  also  from 
the  files  of  the  Caledonian  to  which  the  later  pages  herein  have 
been  much  indebted.  In  respect  of  any  errors  or  inadvertent 
omissions  that  may  hereafter  be  discovered,  there  will  be  more 
regrets  on  the  part  of  the  writer  than  can  be  anywhere  else. 

To  the  memory  of  the  men  and  women  who  in  former  time 
adorned  and  dignified  the  town  with  high  integrity,  refinement  and 
serious  living,  with  business  thrift  and  public  spirited  citizenship 
—and  to  all  who  today  are  adding  to  its  fair  fame  and  prosperity, 
this  contribution  to  the  annals  of  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury  is 
cordially  inscribed. 


Edward  Taylor  Fairbanks 


THE    SHEEPCOTE 
MDCCCCXIV 


"The  researches  of  Herodotus  of  Harlicarnassus,  which 
he  puts  forth  in  the  hope  of  thereby  preserving  from  oblivion 
the  remembrance  of  what  things  men  have  done  in  the  past." 


CONTENTS 


I  EARLIEST    TIMES 

II  CONTRIVING   A    NAME 

III  PIONEERING    1686—1790 

IV  MAKING   A    TOWN 

V  A    BUNCH   OF   STORIES 

VI  THE    PASSING   OF    THE    ARNOLDS 

VII  LOCALITIES   AND   EVENTS 

Vin  AMONGST   THE    RECORD    BOOKS 

IX  THE    OLD   DISTRICT   SCHOOL 

X  RELATING   TO   RELIGION 

XI  EARLY   INDUSTRIES 

XII  DIVERSIONS   AND   DOINGS 

XIII  ON   THE    ROAD 

XIV  A    NEWSPAPER 

XV  TAVERN      STORE       FARM 

XVI  UP   AT   THE    BRICK   HOUSE 

XVII  NOTES   OF    PROGRESS 

XVIII  EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 

XIX  DEBATES    AND    BOOKS 

XX  EDUCATIONAL 

XXI  EXPANSION 

XXII  WAR 

XXIII  FOR    PROTECTION 

XXIV  RELIGIOUS   ORGANIZATIONS 


11 

21 

29 

47 

59 

69 

82 

94 

109 

121 

138 

159 

173 

183 

191 

203 

211 

223 

235 

244 

257 

273 

291 

305 


XXV  PRO   BONO   PUBLICO 

XXVI  MUSICAL 

XXVII  DESCRIPTIVE   AND   REMINISCENT 

XXVIII  BEYOND   THE    BORDER 

XXIX  OCCASIONS   AND   OCCURRENCES 

XXX  MISCELLANEOUS 

XXXI  THE    PLATFORM   SCALE 

XXXII  IN   THE    PUALIC   SERVICE 

XXXIII  UTILITIES 

XXXIV  BUSINESS   NOTES 

XXXV  CLUBS   AND   ORDERS 

XXXVI  VILLAGE   OF   ST.   JOHNSBURY 

XXXVII  PARKS  AND  TREES 

XXXVIII  COSMIC   EVENTS 

XXXIX  A  CHRONICLE 

XL  FRAGMENTS 

XLI  THE   PAGEANT  OF   ST.   JOHNSBURY 
APPENDIX 
TOWN   OFFICERS      TABLE   OF   BALLOTS 
VITAL  RECORDS      FLORA  AND   FAUNA 


321 

332 
345 
364 
376 
393 
411 
426 
448 
473 
492 
500 
506 
513 
526 
534 
552 


ERRATA 


Page  249 

for 

one-third  read  two-thirds 

"    142 

for 

vicious  read  viscous 

M     145 

disk 

plate 

"     348 

shrine 

shine 

M     444 

Harvard 

Boston  Univ 

"     306 

1847 

1827 

11     440 

1876 

1856 

-       69 

IV 
ADDENDA 

VI 

Page  443     after  session  of  1908  insert  Lieut.  Gov.  1910 
330       "     number  per  day      "     in  the  hospital 


CORRIGENDA 
Typographical  lapses  are  left  subject  to  the  reader's  revision 


"Methinks  it  shows  a  kind  of  gratitude  and  good  nature 
to  review  the  memories  and  memorials  of  those  long  since  dead 
and  gone." 

Aubrey 


EARLIEST  TIMES  1492-1786 

"The  curious  and  imaginative   Greek,    whenever  he   does   not  find   a 
recorded  past  ready  to  his  hand,  is  uneasy  until  he  has  created  one." 

Grote,  History  of  Greece 

LEGENDARY— MOOSE  RIVER— ASISQWA  WATER— ABORIGINES  FEW 
— COLONIAL  SCOUTS — NOTES  OF  NASH — BESSBOROUGH — DUN- 
MORE — A    NEW    PLANTATION — GRANTEES   AND    CONDITIONS 

WAWHSUK    AND   IMQUK 

A  moose  came  down  the  east  slope  to  drink  at  the  mineral 
spring.  Wawhsuk  saw  his  rival  Imquk  aiming  at  the  moose. 
Crouching  behind  a  boulder  he  let  fly  an  arrow  that  split  Imquk's 
bow  string.  Having  no  other  weapon  Imquk  ran.  Wawhsuk 
overtook  him  on  the  high  land  west  of  the  river  Posoompsook 
and  buried  a  stone  hatchet  in  his  skull. 

The  next  day  Wawhsuk  waited  near  the  spring  till  sunset, 
when  the  moose  came  down  to  drink.  That  evening  as  the 
moon  rose  he  took  the  antlers  of  the  moose,  decorated  with 
Imquk's  scalp,  and  a  gourd  full  of  medicine  water,  over  to  the 
wigwam  of  Poosuk.  This  was  for  Poosuk's  daughter  Asisqwa, 
who  was  sick  and  who  had  no  liking  for  Imquk.  So  she  got  well 
and  three  moons  after  was  living  in  Wawhsuk's  wigwam  close  by 
the  medicine  spring  ;  and  they  always  called  the  river  monsuluk, 
Moose  River,  and  the  spring  was  called  asisqwa  water.  Date, 
1492,  as  nearly  as  can  be  determined. 

While  this  incident  will  account  for  the  name  of  the  Spring 
Asisqwa  and  Asisqwa  Avenue  at  the  upper  end  of  Portland  street 
it  also  indicates  the  paucity  of  Indian  tradition  within  our  borders  : 


12  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

being  in  fact  all  there  is.  Moreover  its  authenticity  will  un- 
doubtedly be  subjected  to  suitable  scrutiny  by  the  critic  in  his 
sifting  of  prehistoric  material. 

Meantime  the  tomahawk  of  Wawhsuk  which  came  to  the 
surface  just  below  my  garden  August  26,  1860,  is  shelved  in  the 
Athenaeum,  where  it  was  deposited  for  safe  keeping — being,  as 
was  then  supposed,  the  only  one  ever  found  in  the  town.  A  few 
others  have  been  reported ;  indications  of  an  Indian  camp  have 
been  discovered  on  the  Hooker  bluff  at  mouth  of  Moose  River, 
also  on  the  Passumpsic  meadows  this  side  the  Lyndon  town  line. 

But  the  scarcity  of  these  finds  shows  how  little  trace  there  is 
in  this  region  of  the  red  men.  With  them,  as  with  the  white  men 
who  came  later,  this  was  contested  ground ;  border  land  between 
the  powerful  Iroquois  of  the  west  and  the  Algonquin  or  Abenaki 
who  ranged  the  upper  Connecticut  valleys.  A  few  arrow  points 
and  a  stone  axe  or  two  are  all  that  remain  to  indicate  that  any  of 
them  ever  chased  the  moose  or  scalped  each  other  within  the 
bounds  of  this  township. 

COLONIAL   SCOUTS 

Amongst  the  records  of  Massachusetts  Colony  is  found  the 
statement  that  "on  April  12,  1755,  one  Stephen  Nash  and  one 
John  Stark  have  been  commissioned  to  go  on  an  expedition  via 
the  Merrimack  and  Mooselauk  Trails  to  Cowas,  N.  H.  ;  and 
thence  up  into  the  wilderness  as  far  as  they  deem  prudent,  to 
search  out  the  Indians  if  they  are  coming  down  upon  us.  If  so 
the  men  are  to  return  in  all  haste  and  warn  the  settlers  on  the 
borders  and  then  make  their  reports." 

These  scouts,  carrying  out  their  instructions,  found  them- 
selves on  the  7th  of  May  at  the  mouth  of  the  Passumpsic  River, 
from  which  point  Stark  proceded  one  day's  march  up  the  Connec- 
ticut, while  Nash  came  the  same  distance  up  the  Passumpsic. 
This  brought  him  to  the  mouth  of  the  Moose  River,  where,  on 
what  is  now  Hooker's  Hill,  "a  high  piece  of  land  opposite  of  the 
East  Branch  mouth,"  he  found  traces  of  an  Indian  camp  of  the 
preceeding  year.  His  journal,  recorded  on  yellow  parchment 
paper  furnished  by  the  Colonies,  has  been  preserved  in  the  Stark 


EARLIEST  TIMES  13 

family.  In  1912,  a  copy  of  the  entries  that  relate  to  this  locality 
was  obtained  by  Royal  A.  Moore,  the  great-grandson  of  Nash, 
and  the  same  is  here  inserted,  as  the  record  of  the  first  white  man 
who  set  foot  in  what  is  now  the  township  of  St.  Johnsbury.  This 
incident,  which  antedated  the  charter  of  the  town  by  31  years, 
was  made  the  basis  of  the  first  episode  in  the  Pageant  of  1912, 
entitled  "The  Indians  and  the  Rangers."  Stark  was  the  man 
who  two  years  later  won  distinction  at  the  Battle  of  Bennington  ; 
Nash  was  a  hunter  and  scout  to  the  British  army  during  the 
French  and  Indian  wars. 

JOURNAL  OF  STEPHEN  NASH 

A.  D.  1755  4th  day  of  the  week 
May  6th.  Camped  last  night  on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  Pasumsuk 
river  This  morning  I  am  to  start  up  Pasumsuk  River  one  days  march  to  the 
east  and  west  Branch  of  River  if  I  meet  the  enemy  I  am  to  cross  over  the 
highlands  and  head  off  Stark  the  signal  to  be  fereing  of  gun  once  and  the 
hunters  yell  Stark  is  to  go  up  the  Connecticut  one  days  March  to  the  head 
of  great  falls  we  are  both  to  return  to  this  place  the  next  night  after  the  sun 
sets  God  providing  S.  N. 

A.  D.  1755  5th  day  of  the  week 
May  7th.  Camped  last  night  at  the  East  and  West  Branch  of  Pasumsuk 
River  saw  no  signes  of  the  enimy  on  march  up  saw  one  Moose  he  ran 
north  up  River  sign  there  was  no  enimy  at  next  camping  place  whitch  is 
on  a  high  piece  of  land  opposite  of  the  East  Branch  mouth  here  I  found 
birch  Bark  and  splints  and  all  signs  of  the  enimy  building  canoes  here  but  I 
have  knowledge  that  the  labor  was  done  last  season  by  the  signes  I  find  and 
by  marks  on  the  trees. 

I  have  knowledge  that  they  were  indians  from  the  large  lake  near  the 
canidies  on  their  march  to  their  cowas  on  the  Connecticut  I  start  this 
morning  on  my  march  to  the  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pasumsuk  River 
whitch  I  am  to  reach  after  the  sun  sets  god  providing.  S.  N. 

A.  D.  1755  6th  day  of  the  week 
May  8th.  Camped  last  night  on  the  island  at  mouth  of  Pasumsuk  River 
found  Stark  suffering  with  hunters  lameness  used  hot  stones  near  his  legs 
and  hips  in  the  night  and  he  is  able  to  march  this  morning  the  uplands  of 
the  Pasumsuk  are  stony  and  hard  and  not  good  for  settlements  but  I  saw 
small  pieces  of  meadow  land  by  the  river  and  a  goodly  number  of  falls  and 
rapids 

it  is  my  knowledge  that  this  wilderness  march  was  made  too  early  by 
several  Sabbaths  we  search  this  day  to  the  mouth  of  amnosuk  River  whitch 
we  will  reach  befor  the  sun  sits  God  Providing  S.  N. 


24  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Stark  may  have  had  a  turn  of  hunter's  lameness  three  years 
before,  when  out  after  game  one  day;  the  Indians  caught  him  and 
carried  him  off  to  Canada.  Capt.  Phineas  Stevens,  ancestor  of 
antiquary  Henry  Stevens,  on  a  mission  from  Massachusetts  Bay 
to  redeem  captives,  found  him  and  paid  the  Indians  a  Shetland 
Pony  for  him.  The  return  trip  may  have  been  by  way  of  Pas- 
sumpsic  valley.  If  so,  Stark  and  Stevens  were  the  original 
stalkers  across  the  tract,  afterward  named  Bessborough — Dun- 
more — St.  Johnsbury. 

BESSBOROUGH 

"Ye  Collonyof  New  Yorke  is  in  several  "stripes  of  wch  a  greate  Parte 
of  ye  Settlemt  is  made  by  Adventures  in  ye  Wilderness"  "&  ye  kyng 
Cadwaladre  had  alle." 

Sixteen  years  before  the  township  of  St.  Johnsbury  was 
located,  adventurers  were  spying  out  the  land,  and  grants  were 
issued  to  them  under  authority  of  the  crown  by  Cadwallader 
Colden,  Gov.  General  of  the  Province  of  New  York. 

The  first  of  these,  dated  March  29,  1770,  was  a  grant  of 
39,000  acres  to  Lawrence  Kortright  and  35  others,  to  be  known  as 
the  town  of  Bessborough.  This  included  "all  that  tract  of  land 
on  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  River  and  on  both  sides  of  a 
brook  called  the  Passumpsick,  lately  in  the  County  of  Albany  but 
now  in  the  County  of  Gloucester" — covered  today  by  St.  Johns- 
bury and  a  slice  from  the  adjacent  towns  of  Waterford,  Kirby, 
Lyndon,  Danville  and  Barnet.  The  south  line  ran  just  above 
Passumpsic  Village,  thence  north  eight  miles  through  Danville, 
thence  east  including  Lyndon  Corner  to  East  Lyndon,  thence 
south  through  Kirby  to  a  point  below  Stiles'  Pond.  This  made  a 
parallelogram,  six  by  nine  miles  or  more,  holding  a  future  St. 
Johnsbury  in  its  lap,  divided  into  36  equal  parts ;  each  grantee 
entitled  to  1000  acres ;  the  cost  of  the  grant  estimated  at  $4000. 
Bessborough  like  St.  Johnsbury  has  no  duplicate  among  geo- 
graphical names ;  maybe  it  was  intended  as  complimentary  to 
Elizabeth  Van  Shaack,  one  of  the  grantees.  No  trace  remains  of 
Kortright  nor  of  any  of  his  associates,  and  thus  ends  the  history 
of  Bessborough. 


EARLIEST  TIMES  15 

DUNMORE 

""This  is  a  fine  country,  capable  of  great  cultivation,   but  the  discon- 
tented settlers  therein  have  no  established  tranquility." 

Dunmore  {Gov^  GenH.  N.   V.) 

On  the  8th  of  August,  1770,  another  grant  under  the  seal  of 
the  Province  of  New  York,  was  issued  to  John  Woods,  William 
Swan  and  37  others,  covering  "a  certain  tract  of  land  situate  on 
the  West  Branch  of  the  Connecticut  River  {i.  e.  Passumpsic)  in 
the  County  of  Gloucester ;  of  39,000  acres,  said  lands  not  included 
in  any  grant  heretofore  made  by  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire 
— forever  hereafter  by  the  name  of  Dunmore  to  be  called  and 
known."  This  grant  however  would  seem  to  have  encroached 
on  Bessborough  so  far  as  to  include  nearly  half  of  St.  Johnsbury ; 
viz.  all  East  of  Passumpsic  River.  Possibly  Bessborough  had 
gone  out  before  this  time  ?  On  a  map  of  His  Majesty's  Province 
of  New  York,  1779,  Dunmore  is  laid  down  as  above  indicated. 
All  the  mines  of  Gold  and  Silver  in  Dunmore,  and  all  Pine  Trees 
suitable  for  Masts  for  the  Royal  Navy  were  reserved  for  the 
Crown  ;  also  "a  yearly  Rent  of  2  shillings  and  six  pence  for  each 
100  Acres  was  payable  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  commonly  called  Lady  Day  ;  and  within  3  years 
one  family  for  every  1000  acres  of  land  must  be  settled  on  the 
tract,  and  three  acres  for  every  50  of  the  land  must  be  under 
cultivation." 

Meantime  stirring  events  were  going  on.  The  Green  Moun- 
tain Boys  had  discovered  themselves.  They  had  no  further  use 
for  New  York  or  any  other  royal  province.  In  1776  they  set  up 
the  independent  sovereignty  of  Vermont.  This  nullified  all  for- 
eign grants  like  those  of  Bessborough  and  Dunmore.  Under  a 
Commission  of  adjustment,  however,  the  grantees  of  these  towns 
had  the  choice  of  retaining  their  land  by  the  payment  of  ten  cents 
an  acre,  or  relinquishing  their  titles  and  taking  new  lands  else- 
where, which  last  was  the  choice  of  most  of  them. 

One  only  survivor  of  Dunmore,  Moses  Little  by  name,  comes 
to  view  in  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly  held  at  Newbury, 
October,  1787,     Therein  he  stated  that  "the  Proprietors  of  said 


16  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Dunmore  had  Compleated  lotting  out  the  township  at  great  ex- 
pense ;  *  *  *  that  your  petitioner  not  in  the  least  doubting 
that  the  Said  Grant  was  legally  made  by  the  said  Governor  of 
New  York,  had  purchased  of  Sam'l  Stevens  Esquire  at  a  very 
high  price  10,000  acres  of  Land  in  the  said  Dunmore  *  *  * 
that  since  the  State  of  Vermont  had  Exercised  jurisdiction  the 
whole  of  said  tract  of  land  had  been  granted  by  the  said  State  of 
Vt.  to  the  Proprietors  of  Littleton  (Waterford  was  then  known  as 
West  Littleton)  Concord  and  St.  Johnsborough ;  already  your  Peti- 
tioner hath  suffered  greatly  by  the  loss  of  his  property  and  hath 
no  redress  besides  applying  to  your  Honors."  Exit  Moses  Little. 
As  to  the  town,  which  was  intended  to  perpetuate  the  name  of 
the  British  Earl,  no  other  records  appear,  and  so  ends  the  history 
of  Dunmore. 

Mr.  Little  of  Dunmore  was  better  known  in  his  day  as  "Cap- 
tain Moses  Little,  Merchant,"  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  a  wealthy 
proprietor  of  lands  in  this  vicinity,  from  whom  the  town  of  Little- 
ton received  its  name. 

TOWNSHIP   OF   ST.     JOHNSBURY 

"ffyrst  shall  be  shewyd  who  was  the  fftmder  cf  owre  Towne" 

"In  order  for  settling  a  new  Plantation"  under  seal  of  the 
State  of  Vermont,  Gov.  Thomas  Chittenden,  then  in  the  tenth 
year  of  his  administration,  granted  to  Jonathan  Arnold  and 
associates  a  tract  of  land  in  old  Orange  County,  to  be  called  and 
known  as  the  Township  of  St.  Johnsbury.  This  grant  was 
signed  November  1,  1786  ;  it  comprised  71  equally  divided  rights, 
each  including  310  acres,  1  rood,  22  poles,  estimated  altogether  at 
21,167  acres.  Gov.  Chittenden,  according  to  usage  held  one  71st 
part,  his  right  being  located  on  the  East  bank  of  the  Passumpsic 
above  the  Center  Village.  Ira  Allen  of  Irasburg  and  Joseph  Fay 
of  Bennington,  influential  men,  were  non-resident  proprietors  to 
the  extent  of  four  71st  parts.  Samuel  Stevens  had  18  rights, 
most  of  which  he  transferred  later  to  Dr.  Arnold.  Arnold  at  the 
date  of  the  charter  held  3900  acres,  13  rights  ;  equal  in  amount 
to  a  tenth  of  the  old  township  of  Dunmore.  He  had  a  contract 
for  supplying  the  State  medical  chest  kept  at  Bennington  which 
covered  the  expense  of  his  charter  fees. 


EARLIEST  TIMES  17 

The  value  of  the  charter  fees  is  stated  in  a  resolution  passed 
in  Council,  Oct.  27,  1786:  "that  in  the  grant  of  lands  made  to 
Jonathan  Arnold  and  associates  each  proprietor  shall  pay  for  each 
right  nine  pounds  in  hard  money  before  the  following  June,  to  be 
appropriated  to  the  exigencies  of  the  State."  Ten  of  the  grantees 
however  had  attained  rights  of  proprietorship  by  virtue 
of  settlement  on  the  land  prior  to  the  issue  of  the  charter :  these 
men  held  respectively  one  210th  part,  equivalent  to  about  100 
acres. 

GRANTEES  AND    RESERVATIONS 

Jonathan  Arnold  Esq.  Sam'l  Stevens  Esq.  John  I.  Clarke 

Jos.  Nightingale  Joseph  Lord  Esq.  Ebenezer  Scott 

David  Howell  Esq.  Wra.  Page  Esq.  Thos.  Chittenden  Esq. 

John  Bridgeman  Esq.  John  C.  Arnold  Joseph  Fay  Esq. 

Ira  Allen  Esq.  Simeon  Cole  Benj.  Doolittle 

Josiah  Nichols  James  Adams  Martin  Adams 

Jona.  Adams  J.  Callender  Adams  Thomas  Todd 

William  Trescott  Jonathan  Trescott 

To  the  above  23  grantees  were  distributed  by  the  charter  sixty-three  71st 
parts  and  nine  210th  parts.  Each  proprietor  was  required  to  "plant  and  cul- 
tivate five  acres  of  land  and  build  an  house  at  least  eightesn  feet  square  on 
the  floor — or  have  one  family  settled  on  each  respective  right  in  said  township 
within  the  time  limited  by  the  law  of  the  State  :  &  all  Pine  timber  suitable  for 
a  Navy  to  be  reserved  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Freemen  of  this  State, 
agreeable  to  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  passed  in  Oct.  1781." 

Special  reservations  were  made  as  follows  : — "One  71st  part  for  the  use 
of  a  Seminary  or  Colledge  :  one  71st  part  for  the  use  of  County  Grammar 
Schools  within  said  State — which  two  seventy  first  parts  for  the  use  of  a  Sem- 
inary or  Colledge  and  for  the  use  of  County  Grammar  Schools  as  aforesaid, 
and  the  Improvement  of  Rents,  Profits  and  Interests  arising  therefrom,  shall 
be  under  the  control,  order,  direction  and  disposal  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  said  State  forever.  Also  Lands  to  the  amount  of  one  71st  part  for  the 
purpose  of  the  settlement  of  a  minister  and  ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  said 
Township  :  Lands  to  the  amount  of  one  71st  part  for  the  support  of  the 
social  worship  of  GOD  in  said  Township  :  Land  to  the  amount  of  one  71st 
part  for  the  support  of  an  English  School  and  Schools  in  said  Township  :  the 
improvements,  rents,  rights,  profits,  dues,  and  interests  of  these  aforesaid 
three  71st  parts  to  be  unalienably  appropriated  as  assigned,  and  under 
charge,  direction  and  disposal  of  the  Selectmen  of  said  Township  in  trust,  to 
and  for  the  use  of  said  Town  forever." 

At  the  first  proprietor's  meeting  it  was  determined  that  the 
College  and  Grammar  School  reservations  should  include  two  full 


18  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Rights — 310  acres  each  in  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of  the 
Township,  later  known  as  The  Chesterfield  neighborhood,  District 
number  10.  The  rents  of  these  lands  amounting  to  about  $100  a 
year,  are  still  paid  to  the  State  Treasurer.  The  lands  appro- 
priated for  our  town  schools  were  located  in  three  100-acre  lots  at 
different  points  :  there  are  12  lessees  :  the  annual  rentals  are  not 
far  from  $50,  divided  according  to  statute  law  between  July  4  and 
6,  dodging  Sundays. 

The  ministerial,  glebe  or  church  lands  were  also  distributed 
in  four  100-acre  lots,  the  aggregate  rents  of  which  are  $76.50. 
This  money  flows  into  the  treasuries  of  15  religious  societies  in  15 
streams  of  $5.10  each.  There  are  15  lessees  on  these  lands  :  they 
pay  rents  from  $15  a  year  on  100  acres  above  the  Stark  District 
and  East  of  Center  Village,  to  25  cents  on  a  quarter-acre  in  Pad- 
dock Village.  On  the  William  Higgins  farm  are  67  acres  of  the 
glebe  lands.  The  original  appraisals  remain  unchanged  on  the 
town  books. 

Reservations  of  nine  acres  on  each  71st  part  were  made  to 
provide  for  the  construction  of  roads  and  highways,  and  pro- 
prietors were  empowered  to  sell  any  unappropriated  lands  to  en- 
courage the  erection  of  the  first  grist  and  saw  mills. 

The  original  Charter,  with  Gov.  Chittenden's  signature,  Nov. 
1,  1786,  hangs  framed  in  the  office  of  the  town  clerk  ;  also  a  map 
plan  of  the  first  surveys  and  lotting  of  the  Township  Rights,  with 
the  proprietor's  names  thereon. 

REPUBLIC  OF  VERMONT 

At  the  date  of  this  Charter  Vermont  had  been  for  nearly  four 
years  a  wholly  independent  sovereignty,  a  little  republic  apart 
among  the  green  hills :  not  till  March  4,  1791  did  it  become  one 
of  the  United  States.  As  yet  there  was  no  capital  nor  state 
house  but  there  were  men,  capable  of  self-government :  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  met  somewhere  each  October  and  legislated  on  all 
matters  of  public  concern.  "They  established  a  coinage,  fixed 
weights  and  measures,  set  up  a  post  office  department,  and  pony 
express,  organized  a  militia  that  included  nearly  every  man  in  the 
state  capable  of  bearing  arms." 


EARLIEST  TIMES  19 

Nowhere  in  the  country  could  be  found  more  energetic, 
reliant  and  patriotic  citizens  than  these  Green  Mountain  Boys. 
The  stern  stuff  that  was  in  them  had  been  toughened  by  their 
desperate  three-cornered  fight  for  independence,  and  when  they 
finally  set  up  a  government  of  their  own,  they  had  won  respect  not 
only  for  courage  but  for  expertness  in  handling  public  affairs. 
This  consideration,  and  with  it  the  cheapness  of  new  lands  which 
could  not  now  be  taxed  for  the  heavy  war  debt,  induced  a  large 
immigration  of  young  and  enterprising  men  into  this  northern 
wilderness.  Up  the  river  came  Adams,  Todd,  Trescott,  and  other 
adventurers  who  were  on  the  ground  before  the  lots  were  sur- 
veyed or  the  Charter  drawn :  music  to  their  ears  was  the  ring  of 
the  axes  amongst  our  giant  pines  and  hemlocks  ,for  thro  them  they 
were  hewing  their  way  to  independence  and  comfort  in  log  cabin 
homes  and  stumpy  clearings. 

DRAFTING  FOR  LAND    RIGHTS 

The  lots  reserved  for  public  uses  were  located  and  designated 
at  some  time  within  seven  months  from  the  issue  of  the  Charter, 
when,  where  or  how,  is  not  known.  Then  a  proprietor's  meeting 
was  called  "for  the  purpose  of  choosing  committees  to  complete 
the  division  of  lands  then  undivided  in  the  township — to  hear  re- 
port of  committee  appointed  to  settle  with  new  residents  in  the 
township — to  make  provision  for  erecting  mills  in  the  course  of 
the  ensuing  summer — to  take  measures  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
settlement — and  transact  other  business  deemed  necessary — "  of 
which  the  following  is  the  record. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  Township  of  St.  Johnsbury  held 
in  the  House  of  Jonathan  Arnold  Esq.  in  the  said  Township,  in  the  County 
of  Orange,  on  the  18th  day  of  June,  A.  D.  1787— Alex  Harvey  Esq.  was 
chosen  moderator,  Dr.  Joseph  Lord,  Proprietor's  Clerk.  Voted  that  the 
several  Rights  in  said  Township  (Exclusive  of  Two  Lots  of  One-third  Right 
to  each  of  the  ten  persons  who  had  entered  the  town  in  1786,  and  who  were 
admitted  as  Proprietors  by  reason  of  actual  settlement — also  one  Full  right 
for  building  Mills  in  said  Township,  and  Five  Public  Rights — all  of  which 
said  Rights  are  located  and  designated  on  the  said  Plan)  be  now  drafted 
for." 

"Thereupon  Alex  Harvey,  Jos.  Lord  and  Enos  Stevens  were  authorized 
to  prepare  lots  with  numbers  affixed,  the  same  to  be  shuffled,  and  drawn  out 


20  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

against  each  Proprietor's  name — David  Cahoon  Jr.,  and  William  Trescott  in 
presence  of  and  under  superintendence  of  the  Assembly,  made  draft  of  the 
lots,  and  in  the  said  draft  the  lots  came  out  to  each  Proprietor's  name  in  the 
order  required  in  the  Proprietor's  Book." 

Harvey,  Stevens  and  Cahoon  were  from  Barnet  and  Lyndon  : 
perhaps  they  represented  the  non-resident  proprietors  who  held 
a  good  many  rights.  The  one  full  right  of  300  acres  reserved  for 
building  mills,  was  located  to  include  the  powerful  water  fall  on 
Passumpsic  river,  around  which  Arnold's  Mills,  Ramsey's  Mills  and 
Paddock's  Foundries  successively  grew  up. 


II 


CONTRIVING  A  NAME 


of  great  renowne 

'Was  skillful  Merlin,  namer  of  that  town. 


TRADITION  OF  THREE  SONS — A  NORMAN  ADVENTURER — LURE  OP 
THE  NEW  WORLD — PINE  HILL  PLANTATION — ROMANCE  OF 
FANNY — THE  FRENCH  CONSUL — CONTRIVING  THE  NAME — RE- 
DISCOVERY OF  THE  TOWN  GODFATHER — PORTRAIT  IN  THE 
ATHENAEUM — AN  AMERICAN  CLASSIC — IDYLL  OF  THE  FARM- 
FEEDING  QUAIL — BEES  IN  A  KING  BIRD — PERNICIOUS  LETTERS 
— A  VERSATILE  CAREER  — HONOR    TO   A    NAME 


THE    NEW    TOWN    NAME 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance  that  up  to  the  year  1860  the  facts 
in  regard  to  the  naming  of  this  town  were  not  generally  known. 
Current  tradition  had  it  that  Billymead,  now  Sutton,  Lyndon  and 
St.  Johnsbury  were  named  from  Dr.  Arnold's  three  sons,  William, 
Josias  Lyndon,  and  John ;  the  latter  by  his  early  death  having 
acquired  the  saintly  prefix.  With  respect  to  Lyndon  it  was  pointed 
out  by  Pliny  H.  White  that  probably  Dr.  Arnold,  moved  by 
patriotism  rather  than  by  parental  pride,  named  both  his  son  and 
the  town,  from  his  excellency  Josias  Lyndon,  Governor  of  Rhode 
Island  in  1768.  As  regards  this  town,  the  origin  of  the  name  was 
conclusively  determined  by  an  autograph  letter  handed  me 
October  1860,  by  the  antiquary  Henry  Stevens,  who  remarked 
"that'll  tell  you  where  you  got  your  name."    Before  quoting  from 


22  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  letter  we  will  get  a  glimpse  of  its  author,  who  belonged  to  a 
family  of  the  French  nobility  entitled 

DE  CREVECOEUR 

"M.  Michel  Guillaume  St.  Jean  de  Crevecoeur,  commonly 
called  Mr.  St.  John,  a  native  of  Normandy  in  France,"  is  the 
entry,  Sept.  20,  1769,  on  his  marriage  certificate.  Mr.  St.  John 
was  his  American  name,  assumed  when  he  became  a  naturalized 
citizen  :  he  also  prefixed  the  name  Hector  on  the  title  page  of  his 
books.  On  the  deed  of  transfer  of  the  Gray  Court  property  in 
Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  1769,  his  signature  appears  as  "Hector  St.  John, 
Gentleman. "  He  was  son  of  the  Marquise  de  Crevecoeur,  born 
Jan.  31,  1735,  in  the  city  of  Caen  ;  and  received  a  liberal  education 
in  France  and  England.  In  1754  he  sailed  for  the  new  world  ;  was 
for  ten  years  in  the  midst  of  stirring  events  ;  an  adventurer, 
soldier,  surveyor,  explorer — here  and  there  with  youthful  dash  and 
energy  characteristic  of  his  Norman  blood.  He  was  with  Mont- 
calm in  Canada,  an  expert  in  artillery  and  engineering ;  he  was 
at  the  capitulation  of  Fort  William  Henry  in  1757  ;  he  won  rank 
as  lieutenant  of  battalion  ;  he  traversed  the  great  lakes  region, 
explored  the  upper  Susquehanna,  was  adopted  into  the  Oneida 
tribe,  lived  in  Nantucket  and  in  South  Carolina,  sailed  for 
Jamaica,  wintered  with  Mohawk  Indians  among  the  Green 
Mountains. 

Early  in  1764  he  was  naturalized  and  became  intensely  and 
enthusiastically  American  in  spirit.  He  bought  a  large  tract  of 
land  near  the  Hudson,  made  a  spacious  clearing,  drained  300  acres 
of  bog  meadow,  planted  an  orchard,  built  a  substantial  house, 
married  in  1770,  an  American  wife,  Miss  Mehitable  Tippett  of 
Yonkers.  He  gave  his  plantation  the  name  of  Pine  Hill,  and  there 
were  born  his  three  children,  to  the  first  of  whom  he  gave  the 
name,  America  Frances ;  all  of  whom  lived  to  occupy  important 
positions  in  the  social  and  diplomatic- circles  of  France. 

After  some  ten  years  of  idyllic  home  life  and  literary  diver- 
sions at  Pine  Hill,  he  set  out  for  a  visit  to  his  father  in  the  old 
home.  The  first  incident  on  the  trip  was  his  arrest  by  the  British 
who  at   that   time    were    quartered    in    New    York,  and  his  im- 


CONTRIVING  A  NAME  23 

prisonment  on  suspicion  of  being  a  spy.  Three  months  later  he 
received  honorable  acquittal  and  in  1780  sailed  for  France.  The 
next  untoward  event  was  shipwreck  on  the  coast  of  Ireland  ;  from 
this  he  escaped  uninjured  and  in  October  crossed  from  Dublin  to 
England  where  he  spent  a  considerable  time  and  sold  to  a  London 
publisher  the  manuscript  of  his  Letters  from  an  American  Farmer, 
three  folio  volumes,  for  thirty  guineas ;  original  copies  of  which 
now  bring  a  high  price.  He  finally  arrived  at  Pierrepont  the 
paternal  county  seat  in  Normandy,  Aug.  20, 1781,  after  an  absence 
of  27  years.  Here  he  entertained  five  officers  of  the  American 
navy,  "genteel  discreet  men  from  Massachusetts,"  who  had  just 
made  their  escape  from  the  British  military  prison,  and  eventually 
he  secured  their  safe  return  to  Newburyport.  By  pen  and  per- 
sonal interview  he  began  arousing  interest  among  the  people  of 
France  in  American  ideas  and  in  the  great  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. 

THE  FRENCH    CONSUL 

Under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris,  Sept.  3,  1783, 
the  independence  of  the  United  States  was  formally  established  ; 
at  that  time  seventeen  applicants  appeared  for  the  post  of  French 
Consul  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  position  was  given  to  de 
Crevecoeur  in  recognition  of  his  abilities,  character  and  wide 
acquaintance  with  American  men  and  affairs.  Meantime  the  mis- 
carriage of  letters  left  him  unaware  of  tragic  events  that  had 
occurred.  On  landing  in  New  York,  Nov.  19,  1783,  he  found  to 
his  dismay  that  his  home  at  Pine  Hill  was  in  ashes,  burned  by  the 
British  and  Indians  ;  his  wife  was  dead  and  his  children  were  miss- 
ing. Seventeen  days  of  anxiety  passed  before  they  were  found 
in  the  city  of  Boston. 

"Here  begins  the  romance  of  Fanny  St.  John."  This  was  the 
theme  of  a  story  book  published  in  Boston,  perhaps  sixty  years 
after  the  events  ;  which  included  the  flight  of  Fanny,  America 
Frances,  from  the  British  at  the  ravage  of  Pine  Hill,  being  then 
about  twelve  years  of  age  ;  her  destitute  condition  in  Westchester  ; 
her  rescue  and  safe  arrival  in  Boston  under  the  protection  of  Gus- 
tavus  Fellowes,  a  well  known  Bostonian.     Referring  to  this  in  a 


24  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

letter  to  Gov.  Bowdoin,  her  father  speaks  of  "the  wonderful  series 
of  hospitalities  and  kindness  that  my  dearly  beloved  daughter 
Fanny  has  received  from  the  Fellowes  family."  Moreover  this 
friendly  Fellowes  appreciated  the  courtesies  received  by  his 
cousin,  who  was  one  of  the  five  naval  officers  entertained  years  be- 
fore at  the  Crevecoeur  Villa  in  Normandy.  Fanny  was  given  a 
good  education ;  she  with  her  brothers  was  by  special  Act  made 
a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Vermont  in  1787.  She  became  the 
Countess  d'  Otto,  having  married  the  Secretary  of  the  French  Le- 
gation in  New  York,  April  13,  1790 ;  among  the  guests  on  that 
occasion  were  Thomas  Jefferson,  Col.  Wadsworth  and  Jonathan 
Trumbull. 

Note — This  Trumbull  was  the  man  referred  to  by  Washington  in  a 
council  of  war  as  Brother  Jonathan.  By  a  curious  twist  of  usage  that  name  came 
to  signify  the  United  States;  and  in  time  the  humor  of  American  caricature 
evolved  a  more  original  figure  than  John  Bull— the  Brother  Jonathan  of  pa- 
ternal aspect,  trousered  in  the  flag  of  the  Union  and  topped  with  the  big  hat 
of  continental  times. 

St.  John's  Consulate  at  New  York  continued  seven  years  with 
honorable  record ;  he  received  courtesies  from  Washington,  was 
intimate  with  Franklin,  a  special  friend  of  Ethan  Allen  and  had 
familiar  acquaintance  with  many  of  the  distinguished  men  of  the 
day.  He  returned  to  France  in  1790;  in  many  ways  promoted 
friendship  between  that  country  and  this,  and  was  accorded  high 
rank  as  a  litterateur  and  philanthropist.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
French  Academy,  moral  and  political  science,  and  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society  of  Philadelphia.  He  died  at  Sarcelles  near  Paris, 
Nov.  12,  1813,  of  a  malady  originally  contracted  in  the  old  Sugar 
House  Prison  at  New  York. 

ST.   JOHN  CONTRIVES  THE  TOWN  NAME 

In  the  letter  to  Ethan  Allen  above  referred  to  May  31,  1785, 
the  Consul  writes :  "If  the  General  don't  think  it  too  pre- 
sumptuous, in  order  to  answer  what  he  so  kindly  said  about 
names,  I  would  observe  that  the  name  St.  John  being  already 
given  to  many  places  in  this  country,  it  might  be  contrived  by  the 
appellation  of  St.  Johnsbury." 


CONTRIVING  A  NAM  K  25 

This  extract,  interesting:  to  us  as  citizens  of  the  town,  was 
copied  from  the  original  autograph  letter.  Allen  laid  the  matter 
before  the  Governor  and  Council,  and  before  the  grant  was  made, 
the  name,  as  contrived,  had  been  adopted  and  remains  to  this  day 
unduplicated  on  the  maps  of  the  world.  At  St.  John's  nomination 
our  neighboring  town  was  named  from  the  Due  d' Anville,  and  the 
first  little  city  in  the  state  from  the  Comte  de  Vergennes.  He 
offers  to  get  the  seal  of  the  state  elegantly  engraven  on  silver  by 
the  King's  best  engraver,  also  hopes  he  can  procure  from  the  King 
Louis  XVI,  some  marks  of  his  Bounty  and  useful  presents  for  the 
State  College.  In  1787,  by  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  the 
Honorable  St.  John  de  Crevecoeur  and  his  three  children  were 
adopted  as  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth.  Nearly  100  years 
later  his  biographer  remarks  that  "on  the  district  delimited  to  be 
called  St.  Johnsbury,  has  since  arisen  a  flourishing  and  industrious 
village  where  temperance  is  observed  in  the  strictest  manner." 

REDISCOVERY    OF    THE    TOWN    GODFATHER 

As  to  the  facts  above  noted  additional  interest  was 
awakened  in  1905  by  what  might  be  termed  the  re-discovery  of  the 
French  Consul.  It  happened  that  at  that  time  two  young  students 
at  the  Lycee  in  Paris  were  seated  together.  Presently  one  of  them 
said,  "are  you  an  American?"  "Yes."  Then  the  questioner  said, 
"my  ancestor  was  in  America  a  hundred  years  a£o  or  more  and 
had  the  naming  of  a  town."  "Where  was  that?"  "In  the  state  of 
Vermont,  and  the  town  is  St.  Johnsbury."  "That  town,"  said 
the  American,  "was  the  home  of  my  ancestor."  This  young  man 
was  Robert  Turner,  grandson  of  Gen.  Stephen  Hawkins,  great- 
great  grandson  of  Jeriah  Hawkins,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 
this  town.  The  French  student  was  Lionel  de  Crevecoeur,  great 
great  grandson  of  the  man  who  had  the  naming  of  a  town  in  Ver- 
mont. It  then  came  out  that  his  father  Robert  de  Crevecoeur, 
not  then  living,  had  in  1883,  published  a  voluminous  and  interest- 
ing biography  of  the  Consul  St.  John.  When  this  became  known 
in  St.  Johnsbury,  correspondence  was  taken  up  with  Madame  de 
Crevecoeur,  resulting  in  the  presentation  by  her  to  the  Athenaeum 
of  a  portrait  of  St.  John,  a  picture  of  Pine  Hill  plantation,  and  a 


26  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

copy  of  the  book,  "Saint  John  de  Crevecoeur,  sa  Vie  et  ses 
Ouvr cures."  Copious  material  from  this  biography  was  given  by 
Mr.  S.  O.  Todd  in  the  Caledonians  of  June  1905,  on  file  in  the 
Athenaeum.  The  portrait  is  an  engraving  produced  from 
profile  sketch  in  black  chalk  and  pastel ;  it  was  sent  by 
the  hand  of  his  valet  from  Paris  in  1786  to  his  son  Alexander, 
then  in  Caen ;  on  the  back  of  the  frame  was  inscribed  in  English, 
"St.  John  de  Crevecoeur,  Your  Father." 

AN  AMERICAN  CLASSIC 

An  additional  discovery  interesting  to  the  general  public  was 
made  in  1904  thro  the  revival  of  interest  in  our  Colonial  litera- 
ture. This  was  the  re-issue  in  New  York  of  "An  Early  American 
Classic,  entitled  Letters  from  an  American  Farmer,  by  J.  Hector  St. 
John  de  Crevecoeur."  Apart  from  any  interest  it  may  have  in  the 
town  that  bears  his  name,  this  book  found  generous  recognition 
for  its  literary  merit.  It  was  written  at  Pine  Hill  and  the  first 
edition  appeared  in  London,  1782  ;  it  was  brought  out  in  four 
languages  by  nine  different  publishers,  in  London,  Dublin,  Bel- 
fast, Philadelphia,  Leyden,  Leipsic  and  Paris.  "The  book,"  says 
the  Countess  d'Houdetot  of  France,  "has  met  the  greatest  and 
most  flattering  success ;  every  one  loves  the  author  and  esteems 
his  character." 

Charles  Lamb  wrote  Hazlitt  for  a  copy  of  de  Crevecoeur's 
book  on  America  ;  and  the  lively,  pictorial  way  in  which  the  new 
world  scenery  and  manners  are  therein  depicted  was  pointed  out 
by  Hazlitt  in  the  Edinburgh  Review.  Barrett  Wendell  thinks  its 
portraiture  of  Colonial  life  is  rather  ideal ;  but,  says  Moses  Coit 
Tyler,  it  may  have  stirred  the  imagination  of  Byron,  Southey  and 
Coleridge.  President  Washington  wrote  that  he  found  in  it  "a 
good  deal  of  profitable  and  amusive  information."  Some  of  its 
pages  anticipate  the  vein  of  the  Ik  Marvel  rural  papers  ;  the  idyl  of 
life  at  Pine  Hill,  for  example— where  the  farmer  drives  his  plow, 
the  wife  sits  knitting  under  the  apple  tree,  the  little  boy  rides  in  a 
chair  screwed  to  the  plow  beam.  His  sympathies  are  extended  to 
creatures  that  need  befriending  ;  "instead  of  trapping  and  murther- 
ing  the  quail  in  midwinter  where  they  light  in  the  angles  of  the 


CONTRIVING  A  NAME  27 

fences,  I  carry  them  chaff  and  grain  ;  the  one  to  feed  them,  the 
other  to  protect  their  tender  feet  from  freezing  fast  to  the  earth 
as  I  have  observed  them  to  do."  He  was  obliged  however  to 
check  the  depredations  among  his  bee  hives  :  "I  took  a  king  bird 
that  was  snapping  up  quantities  of  my  bees  and  opened  his  craw, 
from  which  I  took  171  bees ;  I  laid  them  out  on  a  blanket  in  the 
sun — to  my  surprise  54  returned  to  life,  licked  themselves  clean 
and  joyfully  went  back  to  the  hive,  where  they  probably  informed 
their  companions  of  such  an  adventure  and  escape  as  I  believe 
had  never  happened  before  to  American  bees,"  [With  like  genial 
spirit,  Ik  Marvel  a  century  later,  sees  on  his  Farm  at  Edgewood, 
king-birds  and  bees.  "I  have  not  the  heart  to  shoot  at  the  king- 
birds, nor  do  I  enter  very  actively  into  the  battle  of  the  bees.  I 
give  them  fair  play,  good  lodging,  limitless  flowers,  willows  bend- 
ing—as Virgil  advises — in  to  the  quiet  water  of  a  near  pool."]  It 
is  of  interest  to  us  of  later  time  to  read  in  the  appendix  of  Creve- 
coeur's  book  that  in  the  city  of  New  York  "the  streets  are  fre- 
quently cleaned  and  are  lighted  during  the  dark  nights,  also  cer- 
tain of  them  have  sidewalks  paved  with  slabs  of  rocks  and  adorned 
with  plane  trees." 

In  one  of  his  Letters  the  American  Farmer  remarks  that  life 
in  this  country  is  independent  and  tranquil,  under  laws  that  are 
simple  and  just,  and  that  he  himself  has  caused  upwards  of  120 
families  to  come  thither.  This  statement  alarmed  the  mind  of  a 
certain  conservative  Englishman,  Rev.  S.  Ayscough  by  name, 
who  promptly  came  out  with  a  pamphlet  alleging  the  "Pernicious 
Tendency"  of  Crevecoeur's  Letters  as  encouraging  emigration 
from  Great  Britain  !  This  was  in  1783,  a  century  before  the  Ellis 
Island  era.  In  this  connection  we  may  remark  that  if  the  Ameri- 
can Farmer  is  over  optimistic,  his  friend  The  American  Printer  is 
wholly  discriminating.  For  while  Franklin  is  pleased  that  "the 
favorable  light  in  which  you  have  placed  our  Country  will  have  the 
good  effect  of  inducing  many  worthy  European  characters  to  re- 
move and  settle  among  us" — he  elsewhere  assures  the  world  that 
America  is  not  a  French  Pays  de  Cocagne,  where  the  streets  are 
said  to  be  paved  with  half-baked  loaves,  the  houses  til'cT  with 
Pancakes,  and  where  the  Fowls  fly  about  ready  roasted,  crying, 
come,  eat  me!" 


28  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Un  Voyags  dafrs  la  Haute  Pennsylvanie  et  dans  V Etat  de  New 
York"  is  the  title  of  a  work  published  in  Paris  by  de  Crevecoeur, 
1801.  It  had  contemporary  value  for  its  descriptions  of  scenery, 
settlements  and  Indians.  A  copy  of  this  in  three  volumes,  im- 
print of  de  Crepelet,  Paris,  1801,  is  in  the  Athenaeum.  The 
author's  name  on  the  title  page  carries  the  decoration — "  Un 
Membre  adoptif  de  la  Nation  Oneida."  Perhaps  his  adoption  as  an 
Oneida  Indian  gave  point  to  Brissot's  remark  that  Madame  d'Houde- 
tot  in  her  salon  at  Paris-"proud  of  possessing  an  American  Savage, 
wished  to  form  him  and  launch  him  into  society.  But  he  had  the 
good  sense  to  refuse,  and  confine  himself  to  the  picked  society  of 
men  of  letters."     This  was  characteristic  of  the  man. 

To  the  end  of  his  life  St.  John  was  keenly  alive  to  every 
thing  that  might  contribute  to  human  progress  and  betterment. 
He  made  one  of  the  first  attempts  in  this  country  at  what  is  now 
called  scientific  agriculture  ;  he  wrote  to  Ethan  Allen  for  seeds  of 
any  grass,  bush  or  plant  likely  to  be  useful  or  curious  ;  in  France 
he  published  a  treatise  on  the  culture  of  the  potato  then  little 
known ;  also  helped  the  introduction  of  lightning  rods  into  that 
country.  He  prepared  for  the  French  government  voluminous  data 
relating  to  economic  conditions  in  New  York  state ;  he  established 
the  first  packet-line  between  New  York  and  France ;  he  distributed 
samples  of  paper  made  from  the  bark  of  the  linden  tree,  antici- 
pating the  present  day  wood-pulp  product;  he  became  intensely 
interested  in  the  initial  experiments  with  steam  as  a  motive 
power,  respecting  which  he  wrote  the  Ducd'Harcourt,  fully  con- 
vinced of  its  feasibility  twenty  years  before  Fulton  drove  his 
steamboat  up  the  Hudson.  Like  his  American  friends  Franklin 
and  Rittenhouse  and  Jefferson,  he  was  eager  and  alert  in  explor- 
ing the  field  of  new  ideas  and  practical  applications  of  the  arts  and 
sciences. 

It  is  a  pleasure  now  to  record  on  these  pages  that  the  man  so 
little  known  in  the  town  that  perpetuates  his  name,  was  widely 
recognized  in  his  day  as  a  gentleman  of  culture  and  versatility, 
honored  for  his  partriotism  and  philanthropy,  for  sweetness  and 
dignity  of  character,  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the  good  of  man- 
kind. 


Ill 


PIONEERING  1787-1790 


"The  hardy  and  restless  backwoodsmen  were  now  hewing  their  way  into 
the  vast,  sombre  forests — frontiersmen  of  strong  will  and  adventurous 
temper,  accustomed  to  the  hard,  barren,  and  yet  strangely  fascinating  life  of 
pioneers  in  the  wilderness." 

Roosevelt. 


A  CLEARING  IN  THE  WILDERNESS — NEWS  FOR  KING  GEORGE—A 
PATRIOT  IN  CONGRESS — TOWN  SURVEYS — FIELD  BOOK  OF 
SURVEYOR  GENERAL — SLEEPY  HOLLOW — PIONEERS  OF  1786 — 
A  LOG  HOUSE — GETTING  MEAL,  POTATOES  AND  MOOSE  MEAT — 
HUGGED  BY  A  BEAR — NEW  LANDS  ON  THE  PASSUMPSIC — RIVER 
TERRACES — THE    PLAIN — ALTITUDES 


"Felled  the  Forest 
And  let  in  the  sun.1 


St.  Johnsbury  Plain  was  an  unbroken  wilderness  prior  to 
1787.  On  the  7th  of  May  that  year  a  man  built  his  camp  near 
the  north  end.  The  same  month,  with  five  other  choppers,  he 
felled  and  burned  seven  acres  of  forest.  Early  in  June  this  was 
planted  with  corn  "in  the  Indian  manner,"  potatoes,  squashes, 
beans,  cucumbers  and  turnips.  In  July  ten  more  acres  were 
chopped  and  sowed  with  oats  and  wheat  mixed  with  clover. 

"This  work  I  did  all  by  hand,  not  having  one  minute  of  ox-work 
about  it.     I  have  chopped  besides  the  above  on  my  homestead  lot  about  26 


30  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

acres  and  girdled  30  acres  more,  so  that  I  have  an  opening  of  43  acres  be- 
sides the  girdled  land  to  begin  on  next  spring." 

"I  labored  under  great  disadvantages  in  making  this  beginning;  the 
nearest  mill  was  ten  miles  off,  and  most  of  my  provisions  I  brought  from 
26-30  miles  ;  being  under  necessity  of  making  a  log  canoe  30  feet  long  to 
freight  in  my  stores  by  the  river  which  was  rapid  and  had  several  carrying 
places  to  pass." 

"When  I  had  chopped  as  much  as  I  judged  prudent  I  employed  my 
hands  in  making  roads  and  bridges  and  in  surveying  townships.  I  have 
cut  out  16  miles  of  roads,  dug  and  bridged  where  necessary  ;  one  bridge  I 
built  12  feet  high  and  covered  80  feet  long.  I  was  at  one  time  ten  nights  suc- 
cessively in  the  woods  without  shelter  on  the  business  of  roads  ;  not  one  man 
was  sick,  and  I  believe  there  is  not  anywhere  a  more  healthy  couotry.  *  * 
Your  dutiful  son,  Jonathan." 

JONATHAN  ARNOLD 

The  man  who  took  this  bit  of  summer  outing  in  1787  was 
Jonathan  Arnold  Esquire,  somewhile  sergeant  and  surgeon  in  the 
revolutionary  army,  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  chief 
proprietor  and  founder  of  St.  Johnsbury.  His  abilities  were  by 
no  means  limited  to  building  log  canoes  and  chopping  forests. 
Something  of  the  same  impetuous  force  and  initiative  that  felled 
the  old  hemlocks  on  this  Plain  went  into  a  document  drafted  by 
him  eleven  years  before,  and  still  extant  in  his  handwriting.  This 
was  "a  solemn,  deliberate,  desperate  Act  of  popular  sovereignty" 
that  legislated  the  Colony  and  Dominion  of  Rhode  Island  out 
of  the  hands  of  King  George  on  the  4th  of  May,  1776,  two  months 
before  the  Declaration  of  Independence  at  Philadelphia.  That 
same  night  couriers  were  dispatched  to  all  the  colonies  with  the 
thrilling  news.  We  are  minded  to  take  off  our  hats  to  the  St. 
Johnsbury  woodchopper  whose  fearless  sense  of  right  confronted 
the  British  Crown  and  set  up  in  little  Rhode  Island  the  first  inde- 
dependent  state  in  America  not  counting  the  Mecklenburg  Declara- 
tion. The  second  to  declare  its  free  sovereignty  was  the  Green 
Mountain  Tract,  to  which  with  axe  and  town  charter  in  hand  he 
migrated  in  1787,  being  at  that  time  forty-five  years  of  age. 

THE    ACT   OF    REVOLT 

The  revolt  of  Rhode  Island  is  no  part  of  the  history  of  St. 
Johnsbury.     But  as  the  Act  that  declared  it,  was  formulated  and 


PIONEERING  31 

pushed  thro  the  legislative  assembly  by  the  founder  of  our  town, 
it  is  too  important  a  document  to  be  omitted ;  the  substance  of  it 
is  therefore  here  transcribed. 

"An  Act  repealing  an  Act,"  etc.  "Whereas  in  all  states  existing  by 
compact,  protection  and  allegiance  are  reciprocal,  the  latter  being  only  due 
in  consequence  of  the  former — and  whereas  George  the  Third  King  of  Great 
Britain,  forgetting  his  dignity,  regardless  of  the  compact  most  solemnly 
entered  into  ratified  and  consigned  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  Colony  by  his 
illustrious  ancestors,  and  till  of  late  fully  recognized  by  him — and  entirely  de- 
parting from  the  duties  and  character  of  a  good  King — instead  of  protecting 
is  endeavoring  to  destroy  the  good  people  of  this  Colony  and  of  all  the 
Colonies,  by  sending  fleets  and  armies  to  America  to  confiscate  our  property, 
to  spread  fire,  sword  and  desolation  throughout  our  country,  in  order  to 
compel  us  to  submit  to  the  most  debasing  and  detestable  tyranny  ;  whereby 
we  are  obliged  by  necessity,  and  it  becomes  our  highest  duty,  to  use  every 
means  which  God  and  nature  have  furnished,  in  support  of  our  invalu- 
able rights  and  privileges,  to  oppose  that  power  which  is  exerted  only  for  our 
destruction." 

"Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  this  General  Assembly,  and,  by  the 
authority  thereof  it  is  enacted,  that  an  Act  entitled,  'An  Act  for  the  more 
effectual  securing  to  his  majesty  the  allegiance  of  his  subjects  in  this  his 
Colony  and  Dominion  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations' — be,  and 
the  same  is,  hereby  repealed." 

The  Act  further  provides  for  the  substitution  of  the  word 
Governor  in  lieu  of  King,  in  all  commissions,  writs  or  other  civil 
documents,  "and  that  no  instrument  in  writing,  of  any  nature  or 
kind,  public  or  private,  shall,  in  the  date  thereof  mention  the  year 
of  the  said  King's  reign."  The  original  draft  of  this  memorable 
declaration,  in  Arnold's  bold  handwriting,  is  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  State  whose  independence  it  daringly  asserted.  It 
entitles  his  name  to  rank  among  the  leaders  who  in  those  critical 
days  crystallized  the  spirit  of  patriotism  and  ultimately  secured 
our  civic  liberties. 

IN    CONTINENTAL    CONGRESS 

While  in  Congress,  Arnold  in  the  face  of  powerful  opposition 
stoutly  defended  the  independence  of  Vermont  as  against  the 
claims  of  New  York  and  New  Hampshire.  To  a  personal  friend 
in  the  latter  state  he  wrote : 


32  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  15,  1782. 
"Dear  Sir  :  Congress  has  been  for  several  days  on  the  affair  of  Vermont 
and  upon  the  whole  it  appears  that  the  present  members  will  do  nothing  to 
its  advantage.  I  have  it  from  the  friends  of  New  York  that  a  new  state  will 
probably  be  formed  on  Connecticut  River  having  for  its  western  line  the 
Green  Mountains,  and  its  eastern  they  care  not  where.  I  thought  these 
gentlemen  might  have  imagined  that  New  Hampshire  had  its  public  feelings 
as  well  as  New  York.  I  think  it  would  not  be  amiss  to  suggest  to  the 
friends  of  New  Hampshire  that  New  York  will  probably  set  such  a  policy  on 
foot,  in  order  to  secure  the  land  west  of  the  mountains  and  on  the  lake  to 
themselves  at  Hampshire's  expense — and  that,  as  the  only  sure  means  of  pre- 
venting such  an  event,  it  is  the  policy  of  N.  H.,  to  concede  in  the  clearest  and 
most  decided  manner  to  Vermont's  independence.  Propositions,  I  doubt  not, 
have  passed  between  some  individuals  of  your  state  and  New  York  to  divide 
Vermont  between  them  by  the  height  of  land  ;  but  from  what  I  can  discover 
it  will  be  dangerous  for  New  Hampshire  to  depend  on  such  a  division  ;  and 
if  New  York  agrees  to  it,  I  think  it  must  be  with  a  view  to  effect  a  future 
division  of  your  state.  I  am  the  more  confirmed  in  this  opinion  from  senti- 
ments discoverable  in  the  persons  lately  banished  from  Vermont,  viz  :  Phelps 
and  his  companion,  who  are  now  in  this  city  propogating  every  false  and 
scandalous  rumor  that  malice  can  invent  to  injure  the  people  of  that 
country,  who  have  no  agent  or  other  person  to  contradict  them.  I  must 
therefore  again  repeat  that  New  Hampshire  can  only  be  safe  in  holding  ju- 
risdiction to  the  river — leaving  Vermont  to  its  present  limits  Independent . 
Your  friend  and  humble  serv't, 

Jona.  Arnold. 

Between  the  lines  of  this  letter  one  may  read  that  Arnold's 
solicitude  was  not  so  much  for  the  people  east  of  the  Connecticut 
as  for  those  on  the  Vermont  side.  He  was  tremendously  interested 
in  the  stout  fight  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  had  put  up  for  inde- 
pendence ;  it  was  exactly  in  the  line  of  the  Rhode  Island  Manifesto 
which  he  had  drawn  up  in  1776.  He  engaged  their  enemies  the 
Yorkers  on  the  floor  of  debate,  as  they  had  engaged  them  on  the 
contested  field.  To  the  rumor  that  his  interest  in  Vermont  had 
led  him  to  communicate  proceedings  that  had  taken  place  in  secret 
session,  he  made  emphatic  denial  before  his  colleagues  in  Con- 
gress. After  a  time  he  determined  to  make  Vermont  his  home. 
In  view  of  public  services  he  had  rendered,  the  state  made  excep- 
tional contracts  with  him  for  lands  now  included  in  Lyndon  and 
St.  Johnsbury.  His  independent  spirit,  tinged  with  a  bit  of  cyni- 
cism, is  revealed  in  a  letter  addressed  to  one  of  his  business 
friends. 


PIONEERING  33 

"I  must  confess  I  feel  myself  happy  in  having  risked  so 
much  on  the  Vermont  bottom  *  *  here  we  may  retire ;  a  few 
acres  will  easily  supply  all  real  wants  ;  are  we  distant  from  circles 
of  wealth  and  ambition?  We  are  the  same  distance  from  heresy, 
confusion,  chicane  and  disappointment.  Are  we  remote  from 
friends?  We  are  equally  so  from  flatterers  and  defrauders." 
This  probably  refers  to  the  gross  mismanagement  that  had 
recently  wrecked  his  foundry  enterprise  at  Winchester,  N.  H., 
the  agents  of  which  he  terms  "as  finished  a  set  of  villains  as  ever 
graced  a  halter." 

TOWN    SURVEYS 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1787,  Dr.  Arnold,  then  in  Bennington, 
wrote  Esquire  Whitelaw  about  completing  the  survey  of  the  town 
lines  and  laying  out  the  lots  of  300  acres  each. 

"I  am  to  desire  you  to  get  Josiah  Nichols  and  Martin  Adams  to  assist  you 
to  make  the  same,  which  I  wish  to  be  done  plain  and  distinct ;  and  if  Mr. 
Adams,  or  Nichols  cannot  attend  that  service,  the  old  gentleman  or  Mr. 
Simeon  Cole  may  be  applied  to,  though  I  hope  and  expect  that  Mr.  Cole  will 
be  otherwise  engaged  for  me  at  that  time.  You  will  please  call  on  Mr.  E.  R. 
Chamberlin  for  pork  and  flour  for  this  service,  and  get  some  rum  from  Col. 
Thos.  Johnston.  I  hope  to  be  with  you  early  in  May  and  fix  the  magazine 
for  your  supplies.  I  inclose  a  sketch  of  the  manner  which  I  think  will  lay  the 
lots  to  best  advantage  in  St.  Johnsbury — if  you  can  better  it,  you  will.  De- 
siring you  to  make  my  compliments  agreeable  to  all  friends  in  that  quarter, 
I  am,  Sir,  with  esteem,  your  assured  friend  and  humble  servant. 

Jona.  Arnold. 

Dr.  Arnold,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was  on  the  ground  the 
first  week  in  May,  felling  the  forest  and  assisting  in  the  surveys — 
Esquire  Whitelaw  was  soon  appointed  Surveyor  General ;  the  fol- 
lowing sample  of  his  journal  entries  is  taken  from  the 

FIELD  BOOK  SURVEYS  TOWN  LINES  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"Began  the  W  line  of  St.  Johnsbury  at  N  W  being  Birch  tree  marked  Lyndon 
S  W  Corner  Nov.  16  1736,  and  ran  S  6<>,  20  E.  At  18  ch.  brook  10  links  wide 
runs  S  W  ;  at  63  ch.  little  brook  runs  W  1  mile  on  W  branch  of  brook  10  links 
wide  running  S  Easterly  by  an  Alder  marked  M.  1,  1787,  and  an  alder 
meadow  2  miles,  a  stake  12  links  S  40°  W  fr.  a  fir  tree  on  land  descending 


34  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

East— the  wood  elm,  fir,  beech,  ash  and  maple,  excellent  land  for  grass.  At 
8  ch.  a  stream  3  rods  wide  runs  N  E  *  *  7  miles  a  stake  8  links  Westerly 
fr.  a  little  birch  on  S  side  of  hill  ;  'this  chiefly  uneven,  the  wood  beech  and 
maple,  good  for  grain  and  pasture  ;  at  51  ch  Barnet  Corner  at  hemlock  tree 
marked  Barnet  Cor.  Mch.  23,  1784,  standing  on  flat  land  on  edge  of  brook 
running  S  E,  wood  chiefly  hemlock.  A  lot  in  St.  Johnsbury  is  310  acres,  1 
rood,  22  poles. 

The  items  that  follow  are  found  in  the  account  of  Surveyor 
General  James  Whitelaw  as  presented  to  the  state  treasurer. 

To  provisions,  etc.,  furnished  by  Dr.  Jona.  Arnold  £  S2    4    5£ 

To  one  quart  of  Rum 

To  seven  males'  victuals  at  10  d. 

To  2  days  settling  acc'ts  with  Jona.  Arnold  Esq. 

To  a  man  and  horse  1  Day 

To  2  camp  Kettles 

To  1  Quart  West  India  Rum 

To  Entertainment  (?)  for  Hands 

To  2  Bags  worn  out  in  the  surveys 

To  Dr.  Arnold's  Account 

To  7  lbs.  Salt  Pork  (of  Capt.  Colt)  and  2  gals.  Rum 

To  35  days  Surveying 

To  4  days  making  Plan    *    *    to  locate  the  Flying  Grants  2    8    0 

The  entries  that  follow  are  copied  from  the  Surveyor  Gen- 
eral's account  with  Jonathan  Arnold: 

1787  May  22,  To  4  days  running  the  line  between  St.  Johnsbury 

and  Danville  £ 

Oct.  30,  To  3  Plans  of  St.  Johnsbury  on  Vellum 
Oct.  15    To  3  Plans  of  St.  Johnsbury  on  paper 

1788  Nov.  1     To  1  day  laying  out  some  100-acre  lots  in  St.  Johns- 

bury 

1789  Jan.     To  3  days  ditto  and  surveying  on  the  River 
To  \  day  for  proprietors  St.  J.  running  the  E.  Line 

1790  To  pasturing  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  one  cow  from  July  2  to 

Aug.  20 ;  7  weeks 

1791  May  9    To  arbitration 

1792  May  29    To  calculating  a  piece  of  land  north  of  Dr.  Lord's 

farm  on  the  South  end  of  Arnold's  Plain  and  making  a 
Plan  of  Billymead  0    7    6 

To  cash  paid  treasurer,    part    of    St.    Johnsbury  Charter 

Fees,  in  1789  50  10    0 

1795    To  8  days  at  different   times   appraising   estate    (of   Dr. 

Arnold)  2    8    0 


0 

1 

0 

0 

5  10 

1 

4 

0 

0 

6 

0 

0 

8 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

10 

0 

0  12 

0 

118 

5 

o* 

0  17 

0 

21 

0 

0 

2  8 

0 

2  18 

0 

1  10 

0 

0  10 

0 

1  10 

0 

0  6 

0 

0  17 

0 

0  8 

0 

PIONEERING  35 

For  services  rendered  by  town  proprietors  in  the  first  land 
surveys  as  reported  to  the  State  by  the  Surveyor  General,  the 
sum  of  ^537  13s  7d,  was  discounted  on  the  Charter  Fees  of  St. 
Johnsbury  and  Danville.  Surveyor  General  Whitelaw's  duties  in 
"surveying  the  towns  of  St.  Johnsborough,  Linden  and  others" 
were  certified  to  by  Isaac  Tichenor  Esq.  afterward  Governor  of 
Vermont,  as  well  and  faithfully  executed. 

STORY  OF  SLEEPY  HOLLOW 

Belonging  to  the  period  of  the  town  surveys  is  the  tradition, 
pretty  well  authenticated,  of  what  may  properly  be  called  our  Sleepy 
Hollow.  Arnold,  Whitelaw,  and  their  men  were  laying  out  lines 
along  the  West  Branch  where  the  Scale  factory  grew  up  in  after 
years.  This  land  and  water  privilege  was  in  original  Right  No.  9, 
which  belonged  to  Dr.  Arnold.  While  he  and  the  other  men  were 
penetrating  the  forest  to  complete  the  survey,  the  provisions  and 
equipments  including  certain  necessary  stimulants,  were  left  in 
charge  of  Thomas  Todd,  with  instructions  to  guard  the  same  with 
care.  Todd,  for  some  reason,  concluded  to  remove  this  miscel- 
lany from  the  bushes  down  to  the  river  bank  ;  where,  on  the  re- 
turn of  the  party,  he  was  found  rolled  up  against  a  log,  fast  asleep. 
Thereupon  Dr.  Arnold  woke  the  sleeper  with  a  shout  and  made 
proclamation — "Let  this  West  Branch  be  known  forever  after  by 
the  name  of  Sleeper's  River!'' 

PIONEER  SETTLERS 

"Q.     Who  was  the  first  man?" 
"  A .    Adam .     Catechism . ' ' 

The  first  man  who  settled  in  this  town  was  Adams. 

In  October,  1786,  perhaps  at  an  earlier  date,  he  and  his 
family,  originally  from  Scotland,  packed  their  belongings  in  boats 
at  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  started  to  row  their  way  up  in  to  the 
forests  of  Vermont.  There  were  seven  in  the  family — James 
Adams,  the  father  and  Submit  Marvin  his  wife ;  a  group  of  stal- 
wart  sons,    Jonathan   Adams,    James   Calendar   Adams,    Martin 


36  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Adams,  Charles  Adams,  and  a  daughter  Polly  Adams.  Their 
boats  were  rigged  with  rafters  over  which  canvas  and  blankets 
were  stretched  for  protection  against  storms  and  the  cold  of  au- 
tumnal nights.  Considerable  furniture  was  stowed  away  in  the 
boats,  including  a  loom  and  spinning  wheel,  the  great  clock,  chests 
of  clothing,  bedding  and  similar  articles  of  luxury,  besides  a  sup- 
ply of  provisions.  Rowing  up  stream  against  the  current  and 
getting  the  boats  around  the  rapids,  brought  them  to  the  river 
Pasumsuk,  up  which  they  worked  their  way  to  the  mouth  of  the 
West  Branch  where  they  landed  and  made  a  pitch  on  the  rising 
ground  which  is  now  at  the  foot  of  Pearl  St. 

LIFE  IN  A  LOG  HOUSE 

The  first  habitation  in  the  town  was  set  up  here,  six  months  or 
more  before  the  boundaries  of  the  township  had  been  fully  surveyed. 
Logs  with  notched  ends  were  properly  fitted  together  with  mud 
and  twigs  for  calking,  and  heavy  pine  boughs  laid  up  and  down  and 
crosswise  for  a  roof.  Planks  were  hewn  out  and  jointed  together 
with  wooden  pins  for  a  door  which  was  securely  fastened  on  the 
inside  by  a  hemlock  slab  thrown  across  for  a  bolt.  A  floor  of 
plank  was  laid  and  rows  of  pegs  for  hanging  up  things  adorned 
the  walls.  Over  the  small  openings  for  windows  were  laid  strips 
of  oiled  paper  as  a  substitute  for  glass,  when  the  shutters  were  not 
down.  Layers  of  pine  and  spruce  boughs  made  a  fragrant  founda- 
tion for  beds.  Tables  and  chairs  and  benches  were  made  on  the 
spot.  The  loom,  the  spinning  wheel  and  the  indispensable  boot- 
jack were  installed  in  their  places.  After  the  first  fire  had  been 
started  by  sparks  from  a  flint  on  dry  shavings  a  perpetual  fire  was 
kept  on  the  cobble  stone  hearth,  for  as  yet  there  were  no  neigh- 
bors from  whom  to  borrow  a  dish  full  of  coals.  Rugs  and  coats 
for  the  winter  were  made  of  bear  skins,  mittens  and  caps  from 
coon  or  fox  pelts.  The  table  was  bountifully  supplied  with  fish 
from  the  rivers,  with  roast  partridge  or  wild  turkey,  with  lean  bear 
steak  and  salt  pork  made  from  salted  bear  fat,  supplemented  with 
coffee  made  of  dried  peas  and  an  infusion  of  "tea  from  sage  leaves 
healthful  and  comforting." 

The  first  religious  service  held  in  St.  Johnsbury  was  the  even- 
ing worship  of  the  Adams  family,  who  by  the  fire-light  of  burning 


PIONEERING  37 

logs  read  from  their  Bible,  sang  hymns  and  prayed  to  the  God  of 
their  fathers  whose  Scotch  devotion  and  reverence  for  religion  was 
thus  introduced  into  this  dense  wilderness. 

Before  the  first  of  November  other  immigrants  had  arrived  ; 
Simeon  Cole,  whose  pitch  was  on  the  bluff  above  the  upper 
meadows  where  the  Edson  tavern  went  up  eleven  years  later  ; 
Josiah  Nichols  a  surveyor  ;  Thomas  Todd,  Jonathan  Trescott,  and 
William  Trescott,  a  breezy  adventurer  who  soon  won  the  affec- 
tions of  Polly  Adams  and  took  her  to  wife.  All  the  men  who 
planted  themselves  here  during  or  prior  to  the  fall  of  1786  secured 
land  rights  as  actual  settlers.  Their  principal  assets  were  axes, 
muskets  and  muscle  ;  some  not  having  money  to  purchase  lands 
were  entitled  to  a  hundred  acres  each  for  having  settled  on  the 
same  prior  to  the  issue  of  the  town  charter  whereon  their  names 
appear  as  grantees. 

The  Adams  family  scattered  after  a  time — Jonathan  went  to 
Ohio  where  he  reared  thirteen  sons.  In  a  letter  to  his  youngest 
brother  Charlie  he  said,  "I  want  the  people  of  St.  Johnsbury  to 
know  that  I  built  the  first  brush  heap  ever  put  up  in  that  town." 
This  Charlie  was  the  lad  of  thirteen  who  caught  up  fire  brands  to 
pelt  the  bear  with  on  a  trip  with  Trescott  down  Lord's  Hill.  Mrs. 
Submit  Adams  died  Nov.  18,  A.  D.  1790,  aged  67,  as  we  read  on 
her  grave  stone  in  the  old  burial  plot  near  the  Waterford  town 
line  ;  the  resting  place  of  the  first  woman  who  ever  kept  house 
within  the  bounds  of  this  township.  Family  tradition  records  that 
James  Adams,  the  father,  drew  valuable  land  rights  in  Littleton, 
i.  e.  Waterford,  by  the  exercise  of  his  gifts  as  a  singer.  While  camp- 
ing with  a  party  of  surveyors,  a  first  choice  of  lands  was  put  up 
for  the  man  who  could  give  the  best  rendering  of  a  song.  Adams 
won  by  singing  the  song  "Brave  Wolfe,"  written  by  his  son  Jona- 
than, a  copy  of  which  in  the  original  handwriting,  is  now  in  pos- 
session of  Mrs.  Hannah  Adams  Hudson,  from  whose  family 
papers  the  foregoing  narrative  has  been  compiled. 

Some  additional  facts  with  variants  have  been  given  by  an- 
other descendant,  Judge  W.  H.  Taylor  of  Hardwick.  His  version 
reports  that  the  family  came  from  Massachusetts  to  Tinmouth 
about  1774 ;  that  James,  Martin  and  Jonathan  were  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary Army ;  that  at  the  close  of  the  war  they  obtained  rights  in 


38  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  township  of  Littleton,  which  then  included  Waterford,  and 
came  up  the  Passumpsic  valley  to  take  possession  as  early  maybe 
as  1783.  The  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Littleton  was 
held  in  Barnet,  Nov.  18,  1783  and,  as  the  record  says  "adjourned 
to  the  house  of  James  Adams  in  said  Littleton. "  The  rein  was  a 
curious  misunderstanding.  James  Adams'  house  was  not  in  Lit- 
tleton. It  was  where  the  foot  of  Pearl  street  now  is  in  this  town. 
Apparently  he  had  come  up  the  valley  looking  for  a  desirable 
location  and  pitched  by  mistake  above  the  Littleton  line  which 
veers  easterly  from  the  river  two  miles  lower  down.  When  the  St. 
Johnsbury  township  lines  were  run  out  in  1787,  it  was  found  that 
James  and  Martin  Adams  had  a  residence  on  Right  Number  6, 
and  the  four  Adams  men  were  admitted  on  the  town  charter  as 
original  grantees. 

Martin  Adams'  log  house  adjoined  his  father's,  and  to  it  he 
brought  his  bride,  Mercy  Ryder  of  Barnet,  in  October,  1785.  This 
place  he  sold  in  June,  1791,  to  Dr.  Lord  and  made  a  new  pitch  on 
Right  48,  three  miles  up  the  river ;  he  was  made  selectman  at  the 
first  town  meeting  and  his  brother  Jonathan  was  our  first  town 
treasurer ;  in  1793  he  bought  lands  on  Lake  Memphremagog  and 
was  the  first  settler  in  Duncansboro,  now  Newport.  Four  of  his 
twelve  children  were  born  in  this  town. 

GETTING   MEAL,    RUM   AND   POTATOES 

Once  up  in  this  wilderness  there  was  little  contact  with  the 
outside  world.  The  younger  men  took  occasional  tramps  down 
the  trail  to  Barnet  to  replenish  the  meal  bag ;  before  returning, 
Martin  Adams  found  it  convenient  to  call  at  Mercy  Ryder's  door 
and  enquire  the  time  of  day.  Joel  Roberts  somewhat  later  qual- 
ified for  arduous  duty  as  first  selectman  by  tramping  up  from  Bar- 
net  with  a  two  bushel  bag  of  meal  on  his  back  and  a  gallon  of 
rum  in  his  hand.  It  is  related  of  another  man  of  less  confident 
footing  that  in  bringing  home  a  bag  of  potatoes  on  his  back,  a 
rent  in  the  corner  of  the  bag  let  out  one  potato.  Lest  he  should 
lose  his  balance  by  stooping  for  it,  and  unwilling  to  part  with  so 
dainty  a  morsel,  he  propelled  the  tuber  by  the  toe  of  his  boot  up 
Lord's  Hill  to  his   cabin  door.     Tradition  assigns  this  particular 


PIONEERING  39 

potato  to  Thomas  Todd.  The  idea  of  a  locomotive  hauling  sup- 
plies up  the  trail  they  laboriously  traveled  would  have  been  as 
remote  from  their  thought  as  a  trip  to  the  moon. 

The  necessaries  of  life  were  few,  hard  money  was  scarce  ; 
wild  meat,  grain  and  furs  were  legal  tender.  A  letter  has  been 
found  written  by  one  Merritt,  who  lived  near  the  Adams  meadow. 
It  seems  that  he  had  been  dunned  by  Capt.  Lovell  for  a  debt. 
His  reply  states  that  he  had  "just  hoed  in  3  acres  of  wheat,  a  few 
potatoes  and  some  barley  which  was  all  the  property  he  had  in 
the  world  except  flint,  powder  and  gun."  He  will  start  out  on  a 
hunt  the  very  next  day  and  if  Providence  favors  with  usual  suc- 
cess he  promises  to  pay  the  debt  with  furs. 

GETTING   MEAT 

"meat!     meat!  Bo-bo!  Bo-bo-bo  \"— Congo  Cannibals. 
"meat?     we?    What  an  atrocious  idea!"— Stanley. 

Human  nature  is  the  same  whether  in  the  forests  of  the 
Congo  or  of  the  Passumpsic — its  demand  is  for  meat — man  meat 
or  moose  meat.  How  Daniel  Hall  got  moose  meat  will  appear  in 
the  following  notes  taken  verbatim  from  the  lips  of  Stevens,  the 
narrator,  in  1860. 

"Hall  had  grant  of  land  from  Dr.  Arnold — 100  acres— in  St.  Johnsbury 
— west  bank  of  Passumpsic — above  Plain — mistake  about  the  deed — another 
100  acres  up  in  Lyndon — Hall  satisfied — next  morning  up  early — packs  wife 
and  goods  on  hand  sled — tramps  to  Lyndon— good  going  on  crust— unpacks 
wife  and  goods — builds  fire — sets  up  wigwam — moves  in  wife  and  goods — all 
settled — next  morning  no  victuals — takes  gun  and  into  forest — tracks  a  moose 
— big  one — shoots  moose — skins  haunch — cuts  out  steak— carries  back  to  wife 
—she  delighted — heard  gun  go  off — thought  breakfast  was  coming— they 
roast  meat  on  forked  sticks— good  breakfast  but  no  salt  or  pepper— then  call 
up  neighbors — they  go  and  skin  moose — each  has  a  piece — Hall  gets  out  hand 
sled— loads  on  moose  meat  and  pelt— back  to  St.  Johnsbury— trades— gets  3 
pecks  potatoes,  half  bushel  meal,  peck  salt — carries  home  to  wife— wife  de- 
lighted— sundown . ' ' 

This  Daniel  Hall  had  made  his  way  up  the  Connecticut  river 
some  while  before  in  a  boat.  He  or  his  wife  or  both  of  them  had 
read  in  their  Bible  the  fourth  commandment,  and  their  oars  rested 


40  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

quietly  in  the  boat  on  the  Sabbath  Day.  At  one  time  General 
Bayley  sent  him  on  a  mission  to  Canada  to  work  up  trade  with  the 
St.  Francis  Indians.  There  was  no  commandment  in  his  Bible 
forbidding  brandy  and  he  innocently  took  along  ten  gallons  of  it 
as  a  probable  stimulant  to  trade.  While  paddling  his  canoe  on 
Lake  Memphremagog  he  came  upon  an  Indian  who  was  fishing. 
He  captured  him,  bound  his  hands  and  made  him  show  the  way  to 
the  Indian  camp.  Here  he  made  known  his  peaceful  errand, 
negotiated  terms  of  barter  and  incidentally  secured  some  Indian 
scouts  who  did  valuable  service  among  the  settlements. 

THE    SEVENTH    MAN 

Of  other  pioneers  of  eighty-six  few  traces  are  found.  Todd 
as  we  have  seen,  took  a  nap  and  thereafter  it  was  Sleeper's  River. 
The  two  Trescotts  lived  and  died  in  this  vicinity.  Jonathan  at 
one  time  thought  he  would  emigrate  and  sent  out  this 

"Friendly  Salutation — Know  all  men  by  these  lines  that  the  undersigner 
is  expecting  to  leave  this  country,  and  wishes  all  his  friends  or  foes,  if  any, 
to  call  on  him  by  the  20th  of  May  instant,  and  he  will  endeavor  to  make 
them  satisfaction.  *  *  Adieu!  wishing  all  God's  blessing  here  on  earth  and 
eternal  life  hereafter  when  I  hope  to  meet  you  all  again.  Jonathan  Trescotl." 

He  probably  remained  in  town  however  and  died  here  at  the 
age  of  88;  it  says  on  the  gravestone  that  "He  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  town,  being  the  seventh  inhabitant."  His  brother  Bill 
was  the  hero  of  the  first  bear  story,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  next 
paragraph.  On  being  disinterred  for  re-burial  in  Mt.  Pleasant 
in  1856,  the  body  of  Jonathan  Trescott  was  found  to  be  complete- 
ly solidified;  it  gave  a  ringing  sound  to  the  spade  and  was 
heavier  than  four  men  could  lift. 

DOWN   HILL   WITH    A    BEAR 

"No  bear  can  keep  his  footing  on  a  steep  hill-side  ;  whenever  an  Indian 
is  in  trouble  with  a  bear  he  takes  down  hill,  lets  the  bear  overtake  him,  then 
knifes  him."    Joaquin  Miller. 

Tradition  is  clear  and  details  are  explicit  as  to  this  perform- 
ance in  1790,  on  the  edge  of  the  gravel  bank  south  of  the  Plain. 


PIONEERING  41 

This  tract  of  land  belonged  to  Dr.  Lord,  and  Bill  Trescott  was  at 
work  clearing  and  burning  it  over.  On  his  way  back  from  tuck- 
ing up  the  fires  one  evening  after  dusk,  a  bulky  object  rose  before 
him.  Trescott  was  powerful  and  resolute,  not  minded  to  dodge 
anything  whatever  that  stood  in  his  way.  Striding  forward  he 
found  himself  grabbed  by  a  bear.  It  was  on  the  edge  of  a  steep 
pitch,  down  which  the  two  rolled  in  this  close  embrace,  till  cradled 
in  the  hollow  of  an  uprooted  stump.  Hoping  to  scare  off  the 
bear,  Charlie  Adams  hurled  blazing  fire  brands  at  him  from  the 
top  of  the  hill.  Trescott  was  underneath  the  bear,  but  he  held 
himself  master  of  the  situation.  With  his  right  hand,  which  was 
free,  he  brought  a  stout  knife  from  his  pocket,  opened  the  blade 
with  his  teeth  and  applied  it  to  the  jugular  vein  of  the  bear.  This 
released  the  man  and  quieted  the  frantic  yelping  of  Jack,  his  dog. 
The  next  morning  the  bear  killer  was  hailed  in  the  settlement 
with  all  the  honors  of  a  conquering  hero.  The  story  of  his  en- 
counter is  not  so  improbable  if  we  allow  that  this  was  a  young 
and  inexperienced  bear.  Trescott  in  later  years  became  the  most 
famous  Post  Rider  in  the  county,  and  as  such  was  personated  at 
the  Pageant  of  1912.  He  lived  till  1831,  and  as  late  as  1871  per- 
sons who  had  known  him  well  said  they  had  often  heard  him  tell 
his  bear  story  with  animation  and  honest  pride. 

"Bill  Trescott  was  an  old  revolutionary  soldier,  a  very  pro- 
nounced character  with  a  genius  for  invention  and  an  experience 
of  perilous  adventures  and  narrow  escapes.  It  was  his  great  de- 
light to  be  seated  on  his  old  horse,  his  saddle  bags  filled  with 
papers,  and  a  tin  horn  of  huge  dimensions  with  its  small  end  in- 
serted in  his  boot  leg.  He  was  at  home  in  everyone's  house, 
welcome  at  everyone's  table,  had  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  news, 
ancedotes  and  stories,  was  full  and  bubbling  over  with  jocundity 
and  keen  repartee." 

NEW    LANDS   ON   THE    PASSUMPSICK 

These  lands  were  advertised  in  the  Providence  Gazette  of 
June  27,  1787,  as  being 

"on  or  near  the  pleasant  and  healthful  River  Passumpsick,  County  of 
Orange,  State  of  Vermont — inferior  to  none  in  quality  and  climate,  for  those 


42  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

who  prefer  a  competency  with  health  and  safety  to  luxury  with  infirmity  and 
danger.  Titles  to  every  lot  will  be  had  from  the  original  grantees,  payment 
to  be  made  in  cattle,  country  produce  and  labour.  For  further  particulars 
apply  to  the  subscriber  in  St.  Johnsbury,  who  will  show,  not  maps  and 
charts,  varigated  with  imaginary  Plains,  Vallies  and  Streams,  but  the  soil 
itself.    Jonathan  Arnold . ' ' 


During  the  same  year  Dr.  Arnold,  in  a  letter  to  his  parents 
says,  "It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  accommodate  some  of  your 
smart  Smithfield  young  men  with  good  land  for  farms.  The 
present  price  is  one  dollar  per  acre  ;  twenty  dollars  on  a  hundred 
acres  in  hard  money  down ;  fifty  dollars  in  neat  cattle  in  six 
months,  and  thirty  dollars  in  neat  stock  or  grain  in  eighteen 
months  or  as  grain  may  be  grown  on  the  land.  My  corn  has 
yielded  twenty-five  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  my  potatoes  564^ 
bushels  measured  out.  Should  any  wish  to  come  and  see  before 
they  purchase,  it  will  suit  me  best,  as  the  land  will  bear  exam- 
ining." 

IMMIGRATION 

This  was  an  attractive  proposition  to  young  men  of  southern 
New  England,  where  conditions  were  not  very  satisfactory.  Mc- 
Master  says  that  in  the  fall  of  1786  "crops  were  good  but  pockets 
were  empty.  With  difficulty  could  a  few  pistareens  or  coppers  be 
scraped  together.  Farmers  hunted  to  find  a  cobbler  who  would 
take  wheat  for  shoes,  or  a  trader  who  would  give  everlasting  shoe 
material,  in  exchange  for  pumpkins."  Enterprising  young  men 
began  to  make  their  way  up  into  this  wilderness  where  good  land 
could  be  had  for  a  dollar  an  acre.  The  next  few  years  found 
David  Goss,  Jeriah  Hawkins,  Abel  Shorey  established  on  the 
upper  waters  of  West  Branch ;  Reuben  Spaulding  was  beginning 
a  Spaulding  Neighborhood ;  John  and  Samuel  Ayer  made  an 
Ayer  District;  Gardner  Wheeler  and  his  brother  Martin' with  Joel 
Roberts  and  Eleazer  Sanger  cut  in  at  the  Four  Corners ;  John  Ide, 
John  Armington,  Nath'l  Bishop,  David  Lawrence,  John  and 
Barnabas  Barker,  Caleb  Wheaton  and  Asquire  Aldrich,  most  of 
them  from  Rehoboth,  took  up  a  chain  of  rights  running  from  the 
Crow  Hill  region  to  the  south  line  of  the  township.  Lieut. 
Thomas  Pierce  bought  300  acres  which  included  part  of  what  is 


PIONEERING  43 

now  the  Center  Village  and  the  high  field  where  the  old  Meeting 
House  was  planted ;  near  by  were  Daniel  Pierce  and  Oliver  Ste- 
vens ;  farther  up  Ephraim  Humphrey ;  lower  down  Nathaniel 
Edson ;  others  at  various  points.  Most  of  these  men  came  to 
town  on  foot  or  with  ox  carts.  Some  may  have  had  a  horse  or 
two.  They  lived  in  log  houses  and  thrived  and  multiplied.  Noth- 
ing checked  the  cheerful  growth  of  population.  Children  among 
a  few  of  these  families,  as  reported,  numbered — six,  six,  six, 
eight,  eight,  eight,  nine,  ten,  ten,  ten,  ten,  twelve,  fourteen,  fif- 
teen— many  families  not  yet  heard  from.  Quite  a  number  of  the 
fathers  and  mothers  went  on  into  the  eighties  and  nineties;  Jeriah 
Hawkins  reached  ninety-nine  years ;  Mrs.  O.  Stevens  one  hun- 
dred and  one.  There  are  no  traditions  of  nervous  prostration, 
dispeptic  incapacity,  anemic  blood  or  appendicitic  disturbances. 

AS   TO   THE    SOILS 

Of  the  New  Lands  on  the  Passumpsic,  a  writer  somewhat 
later  remarked,  "the  soil  of  the  early  clearings  was  rich  and  in- 
viting to  the  adventurer.  In  some  localities  wooded  with  firs  and 
hemlocks  it  was  dry  and  sandy;  in  others  dark,  moist,  rich, 
shaded  with  maple,  elm  and  bass,  underskirted  with  nettles  and 
polypods.  These  maple  and  elm  lots  were  uniformly  the  first 
choice  of  the  settlers.  The  first  few  rounds  of  crops  equalled 
their  expectation,  but  in  less  than  thirty  years  it  was  plainly 
shown  that  in  point  of  value  and  productiveness  the  evergreen 
lands  were  much  superior  to  the  dark  soils  so  deceptively  luxu- 
riant in  their  primitive  verdure." 

Riding  up  Passumpsic  Valley  today  one  sees  regretfully  long 
stretches  of  yellow  sand  resembling  the  wind-swept  surface  of  a 
desert.  This  shows  how  thin  was  the  crust  of  good  soil  origi- 
nally laid  on  these  slopes.  A  patch  of  bare  sand  not  more  than 
two  yards  square  on  the  Wing  Hill  region  as  remembered  by  a 
resident  there,  has  now  become  forty  acres  of  barrenness.  A 
speedy  re-foresting  with  pine  seedlings  is  demanded  to  stay  the 
progress  of  these  on-creeping  sand  dunes. 

The  early  settlers  facing  trees  were  seized  with  a  spirit  of 
ravage.     Their  stout  axes  knew  no  respite,  gave  no  quarter ;  the 


44  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

tree  was  a  Canaanite  marked  for  extermination.  Not  only  were 
meadows  and  slopes  transformed  into  pleasant  fields,  but  precipi- 
tous pitches  that  needed  interweaving  roots  to  hold  the  soil,  were 
shorn  of  their  glory  and  left  with  an  offer  of  scant  feed  and  pre- 
carious footing  to  the  meandering  cow.  As  late  as  1850,  there 
were  black  stumps  for  boys  to  burn  on  the  ragged  edges  and 
steep  descents  of  the  Plain,  as  this  writer  well  remembers.  Then 
went  out  the  last  remnant  of  the  Canaanite  in  the  land. 


RIVER   TERRACES  THE    PLAIN 


'Earth  one  time  put  on  a  frolic  mood, 

"Heaved  the  hills,  and  changed  the  mighty  motion 
"Of  the  strong  dread  currents  of  the  ocean— 

'O,  the  age-long  centuries  since  that  day!" 


The  rock  formation  of  this  town  is  almost  wholly  limestone, 
technically  calciferous  mica  schist.  There  are  no  beds  of  granite, 
or  other  valuable  stone,  no  fine  specimens  of  minerals.  In  the 
two  large  volumes  of  the  Geology  of  Vermont  there  is  only  a 
brief  reference  once  or  twice  to  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury. 
Therein  this  region  so  barren  to  the  geologist  is  notably  con- 
trasted with  other  towns  of  the  state  which  are  rich  in  interesting 
formations  and  in  mineral  products. 

The  one  interesting  topographical  feature  of  this  town  is  that 
of  the  River  Terraces.  These  were  formed  by  running  water 
which  deposited  layers  of  gravel,  clay,  sand,  pebbles,  cobble 
stones,  pulverized  limestone,  constituting  what  is  termed  strati- 
fied drift.  The  successive  or  alternating  strata  of  these  deposits 
are  laid  open  to  view  on  the  gravel  bank  of  South  Main  street,  on 
Hastings  Hill  road  and  around  the  foot  of  Boynton  Hill. 

A  prodigious  tide  of  waters  poured  in  from  the  north  filling 
the  wide  basin  between  Caledonia  Hill  on  the  east  and  the  maple 
crowned  summits  on  the  west.  In  to  this  outspreading  lake  the 
mighty  river,  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  in  depth  it  may  be,  swept  its 
gravel  and  sand  and  laid  the  broad  level  terrace  that  we  now  call 
St.  Johnsbury  Plain.     Here  and  there  on  the   edges  we  trace  the 


PIONEERING  45 

work  of  off  shooting  currents  that  built  up  bluffs  and  projections 
rounding  off  steeply — here  a  Pinehurst  deer  park,  there  a  Prospect 
street  promontory,  farther  down  a  South  Park  pitching  abruptly 
toward  the  west.  The  most  pronounced  of  these  bluffs,  at  the  ex- 
treme south,  shoots  out  over  the  old  bed  of  Sleeper's  River, 
where  the  winding  track  of  the  Lake  Road  is  laid.  The  high  ter- 
race of  the  Plain,  which  was  the  earliest  in  formation,  seems  to 
have  originally  extended  from  the  south  end  to  the  foot-hills  of 
Saddleback,  including  the  plain  of  Pleasant  Street  and  the  Catho- 
lic cemetery.  The  rush  of  mighty  floods  at  the  close  of  the  ice 
period  would  be  forceful  enough  to  cut  a  passage  through  the  ter- 
race, leaving,  as  at  present,  the  gulf  between  Boynton  Hill  and 
upper  Paddock  Village. 

Lower  terraces  of  later  formation  were  laid  by  the  gradually 
diminishing  floods,  which  finally  dwindled  down  into  the  little 
streams  of  PassumpsicRiver  and  its  tributaries.  Among  these  are  the 
flat  farms  and  meadows  this  side  of  Passumpsic  Village;  the  Cale- 
donia Co.  Fair  Ground,  and  the  distinctly  marked  terraces  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  going  north.  Railroad  street  runs  along 
one  ancient  terrace,  the  meadows  below  are  another,  the  latest 
formed.  Centuries  of  time  lie  between  the  surface  of  the  Plain 
and  the  present  level  of  the  river.  From  the  road  descending 
southward  from  Main  Street,  a  small  but  beautiful  terrace  is  seen 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Passumpsic,  laid  as  smoothly  as  if  made 
for  the  bed  of  a  railroad. 

Here  and  there  in  different  parts  of  the  town  boulders  of  gran- 
ite or  large  cobble  stones  appear  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
These  were  brought  along  and  deposited  by  the  great  glacier  that 
swept  down  over  New  England  from  northwestern  Canada  to  the 
Atlantic  coast.  The  under  edge  of  a  boulder  bedded  in  the  bot- 
tom of  a  glacier  would  often  be  worn  smooth  in  the  course  of  its 
long  continental  journeys  ;  this  was  doubted  in  1883  by  one  of  the 
Academy  boys  in  Prof.  Brackett's  class  room — but  when  as  a 
practical  farmer  years  afterward  he,  Erastus  Hallett,  was  blasting 
eleven  cords  of  stone  out  of  a  boulder  in  his  own  pasture  east  of 
the  Center  Village,  he  discovered  convincing  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  the  statement. 


46  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

HEIGHTS  AND  DISTANCES 

Our  altitudes  have  apparently  been  over-estimated  in  former 
reckonings.  On  the  government  tables  of  altitude  published  1911, 
St.  Johnsbury  Plain  is  set  at  711  feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  rail- 
road tracks  at  556  feet.  This  would  make  Caledonia  Hill  east  of 
the  station  941  feet,  The  Knob  1091  feet,  Crow  Hill  1246  feet, 
Saddleback  1356  feet  approximately.  Government  triangulation 
has  not  yet  reached  this  region.  Mileage  distances  are  New  York 
320  miles,  Portland  128,  Boston  189,  Montreal  190  miles.  This 
brings  the  half  way  point  between  Boston  and  Montreal  half  a 
mile  above  St.  Johnsbury  railroad  station. 

The  town  lies  in  Latitude  44°-27',   Longitude    72°-l'    West. 


IV 


MAKING  A  TOWN 


"When   necessity   caused   whole  thorpes   to  bee  enuironed  about,  these 
did  thereby  take  the  name  of  tunes,  afterward  pronounced  townes" 

Verstegan,  1628 


THE  FIRST  TOWN  MEETING — HIGHWAYS  AND  BRIDGES — THE 
BRIDGE  WAS  PLANKED— ROAD  MINUTES — OLD  ROADS  AT 
CENTER  VILLAGE — WOODPECKER  PETITION — MOOSE  VALLEY 
ROAD — CENSUS  OF  1790 — PARISHES  ERECTED — DISTRICTED 
FOR    SCHOOLS — ANNEXATION    DESIRED. 


TOWN    ORGANIZATION 

"The  New  England  town,  to  be  short,  was  a  representative  democracy  of 
the  purest  type ;  the  town  still  remains  the  unit  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment." Shaler 

St.  Johnsbury  was  on  the  map  three  years  before  becoming 
a  town.  By  that  time  there  were  fifty-four  men  in  the  settlement, 
enough  to  get  down  to  business.  They  called  a  meeting  and 
chose  sixteen  town  officers.     The  record  is  here  given: 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Township  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
legally  warned  and  holden  at  the  Dwelling  House  of  Jonathan  Arnold 
Esquire,  in  the  said  Township,  on  Monday  the  21st  day  of  June,  Anno 
Dom.  1790 — being  the  first  Town  meeting  ever  held  in  said  Town— Jonathan 
Arnold  Esq.,  was  chosen  Moderator;  Jonathan  Adams,  Town  Treasurer; 
Asa  Daggett,  Constable;  Asa  Daggett,  Collector  of  Taxes;  Jona.  Arnold, 
Sealer  of  Weights  and  Measures ;  Joel  Roberts,  Joseph  Lord,  Martin  Adams, 


48  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Selectmen ;  the  Selectmen,  Listers  and  Assessors ;  Barnabas  Barker,  Moses 
Hall,  Eleazer  Sanger,  Thomas  Todd,  Martin  Adams,  Surveyors  of  Highways 
and  Fence  Viewers.     Meeting  Dissolved. 

Jona.  Arnold,  Town  Clerk." 

Something:  of  the  condition  of  things  in  the  town  at  this  time 
may  be  gathered  from  the  following  petition  presented  to  the 
General  Assembly  a  few  months  earlier : 

"To  the  Hon.  Gen.  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  convened  Oct. 
1789.  The  subscriber  humbly  showeth— That  he  hath  with  great  difficulty 
and  expense  begun  a  settlement  in  the  northern  part  of  this  State.  That  he 
hath  since  the  25th  April,  1787,  introduced  more  than  Fifty  Industrious  men 
as  settlers  (which  number  would  have  been  much  greater  but  for  the  scar- 
city of  Provisions  in  that  Country)  and  some  of  whom  have  families  now  there. 
That  a  principal  difficulty  we  have  had  to  encounter,  hath  originated  from 
the  want  of  passable  roads  to  the  Townships  by  which  we  are  planted,  and 
which  we  have  had  no  means  of  procuring  to  be  made.  And  this  difficulty 
is  still  likely  to  continue  unless  by  the  interposition  of  your  Honors  we  are 
relieved."  Jona.  Arnold 

ROADS   AND    BRIDGES 

"Nothing  makes  an  inroad  without  making  a  Road.  All  creative  ac- 
tion, whether  in  government,  industry,  thought,  or  religion,  creates  Roads." 

Bushnell 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Selectmen  after  the  organization 
of  the  town  was  to  send  up  to  the  General  Assembly,  1790,  the 
following  petition,  which 

"Humbly  sheweth— that  they  suffer  under  great  inconvenience  from  the 
want  of  Roads  and  Bridges  in  the  Township  of  St.  Johnsbury,  and  altho  the 
Inhabitants  have  exerted  themselves  equal  at  least  to  those  of  any  new  Set- 
tlement, and  have  also  had  the  Assistance  of  a  small  Proprietor's  tax— the 
whole  is  absolutely  inadequate  to  what  is  absolutely  necessary  for  their  con- 
venience, the  Advantage  of  Land  Owners,  and  the  Interest  of  the  State.  For 
the  circumstances  of  the  Town  is  such  as  requires  much  more  to  be  ex- 
pended for  such  purposes  than  falls  to  the  Lot  of  such  Townships  in  Gen- 
eral ;  it  being  so  situate  as  to  be  the  Key  to  a  very  fertile  Country  northward 
and  the  only  practicable  and  nearest  communication  between  the  towns  on 
and  about  the  Onion  River  to  those  on  the  Connecticut  at  the  Upper  Coos , 
which  render  necessary  an  extent  of  about  35  miles  of  Roads  for  general 
purposes,  besides  many  others  for  more  private  and  particular  uses  therein." 


MAKING  A  TOWN  49 

"And  the  said  Township  having  nearly  through  its  center  from  North  to 
South,  the  Passumpsick,  a  River  about  12  rods  wide,  and  on  the  East  part 
the  Moose  River  about  6  rods  wide,  and  runs  therein  an  extent  of  about  7 
miles — requires  a  large  number  of  Bridges  ;  two  at  least  on  the  Passumpsick, 
one  near  the  Mills  (Arnold's)  and  the  other  near  the  North  line  of  said 
Township,  two  on  the  Moose  River,  and  three  at  least  on  Sleeper's  River. 
Wherefore  your  Petitioners  humbly  pray  your  Honors  for  leave  to  bring  in  a 
Tax  of  4  Pence  per  acre  on  the  lands  in  St.  Johnsbury  for  the  purpose  afore- 
said.    And  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  respectfully  pray," 

Signed  Joel  Roberts,  Joseph  Lord,  Martin  Adams,  Selectmen. 

To  the  above  petition  were  subsequently  affixed  the  signa- 
tures of  Jonathan  Arnold,  Joseph  Fay  of  Bennington,  Enos  Ste- 
vens of  Barnet  and  Gov.  Chittenden,  as  proprietors  to  the  extent 
of  32  rights.  On  June  30,  1791,  the  Committee  appointed  by  leg- 
islature for  laying  out  and  making  these  roads  and  bridges  in  St. 
Johnsbury  "allowed  ,£30,  for  Bridge  over  the  Passumpsick  at  the 
Mills,  (Paddock  Village),  £20,  ditto  across  the  East  Branch  or 
Moose  River  near  its  mouth,  and  6  Pence  per  Rod  for  completing 
a  road  1  rod  wide  from  one  bridge  to  the  other." 

Jonathan  Arnold  took  the  job,  and  in  building  the  first  named 
bridge  ' 'tradition  says  that  his  inflexible  will,  moved  by  some  un- 
reported cause,  compelled  the  workmen  to  begin  planking  at  the 
farther  end  of  the  bridge,  carrying  all  the  plank  across  over  the 
stringers  as  best  they  could,  instead  of  laying  them  down  in  ad- 
vance of  their  steps."  The  bridge  builder  was  Capt.  John  Stiles. 
He  cut  three  pine  trees  on  the  slope  of  Sand  Hill  and  they  gave 
all  the  timber  needed. 

PLAIN  ROADS 

Originally  three  principal  roads  ran  out  from  the  Plain  :  one 
from  the  north  end  down  Sand  Hill  to  Arnold's  Mills  on  the  Pas- 
sumpsic,  thence  later  up  the  west  side  of  the  river  to  Sanger's 
Mills  and  Lyndon  ;  one  on  the  line  of  western  Avenue  to  Sleeper's 
River  and  on  by  Pumpkin  Hill  to  Danville ;  one  toward  Barnet 
from  the  south  end  of  the  Plain.  This  last  was  built  down  the 
steep  descent  of  Lord's  Hill,  the  track  of  which  may  be  easily 
traced  in  the  pasture  east  of  Brantview  and  of  the  present  road; 
it   reached  the  meadow  level  some  rods  south  of  the  end  of  Pearl 


50  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

street.  At  this  point  the  survey  for  alterations  began  as  late  as  Oct. 
1819,  on  what  was  then  called  the  County  Road  from  St.  Johns- 
bury  to  Lyndon. 

"Beginning  at  a  cherry  tree  at  the  foot  of  Lord's  Hill  so  called,  thence 
N.  80o  W.  20  Rods,  to  and  across  the  Plain  to  Phelps  Potash  ;  then  beginning 
at  foot  of  the  hill  north  of  the  red  school  house  on  4  miles  to  Simeon  Cobb's 
blacksmith  shop,  then  to  Sullivan  Albee's  barn,  thence  N.  68oE,  40  Rods  to 
the  old  road  south  of  John  Sanderson's."  "Approved  by  Gardner  Wheeler, 
Roman  Fyler,  J.  C.  Willard,  Committee  appointed  by  the  Legislature,  Oct. 
1818,  to  re-survey,  lay  out  and  make  alterations  in  said  County  Road." 
Lyndon,  Oct.  7,  1819. 

The  Passumpsic  Turnpike  Company  was  organized  under  a 
charter  given  in  1804.  Joseph  Lord  and  Luther  Jewett  were 
among  the  corporators  and  Presbury  West  was  one  of  the  locators. 
The  road  however  took  a  westerly  direction  and* did  not  enter  this 
town.  The  huge  wooden  plow  now  in  the  Museum  was  used  by 
James  Beattie  in  the  construction  of  that  turnpike.  Scrip  in  vari- 
ous denominations  was  issued  by  this  Company  specimens  of 
which  are  preserved  in  the  Athenaeum. 

ROAD  MINUTES 

In  volume  one  of  the  Town  Records  are  found  the  earliest 
entries  relating  to  public  roads.  These  comprise  a  total  of  148 
Road  Minutes,  surveys,  alterations  and  openings  between  the  year 
1808  and  1843.    Some  extracts  follow. 

Page  103.  Survey  of  the  Riverside  Pent  Road  running  about  one  mile 
south  from  the  Center  Village  on  the  East  side  of  the  river.  "Minutes  of  a 
road  beginning  one  Rod  east  of  the  bridge  across  Passumpsic  River  below 
the  Center  Village  in  St.  Johnsbury.  Then  it  runs  S.  4i<>  E.  60  Rods  to  a 
stake  marked  thus  X  ;  then  S.  6f°  E,  36  Rods  to  a  stake  marked  thus,  X  ; 
then  S.  26«  W.  16  Rods  to  a  stake  marked  thus  X;  then  S.  15<>  W.  16  Rods  to 
a  hemlock  stump  marked;  then  S.  38°  Rods  to  a  stake  1  Rod  East  of  Jeffer- 
son Butler's  house.  I  certify  that  I  made  the  above  survey  by  order  of  and 
in  presence  of  the  Selectmen  of  St.  Johnsbury. 

Isaiah  Harvby,  C.S.  Nov.  21,  1828. 

"We  the  undersigned,  Selectmen  of  the  Town  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
have  laid  out  the  above  described  Road  according  to  the  above  survey  bill ; 
«nd  we  have  laid  out  said  Road  one  Rod  and  a  half  wide  as  a  Pent  Road, 


MAKING  A  TOWN  51 

with  the  restriction  of  two  pairs  of  bars  being  kept  in  repair,  viz:  one  pair 
to  be  kept  up  by  Jefferson  Butler,  and  the  other  pair  by  the  owners  or  occu- 
piers of  the  Sanger  farm." 

Samuel  French,  Abel  Butler  Jr.,  Selectmen, 
Nov.  28,  1828. 

This  Pent  Road  was  extended  to  the  foot  of  the  Plain  hill  44 
years  later,  in  1872.  The  upper  end  across  the  Jefferson  Butler 
meadow  was  contracted  to  George  Ranney,  170  rods  at  $3.00  a 
rod ;  the  lower  end  of  213  rods  to  Colegate  Hill  was  built  by  W. 
M.  Badger  and  Horace  I.  Woods  at  $5.00  a  rod.  It  was  opened 
August  1873,  and  since  that  date  has  been  the  main  highway. 

Page  119.  The  new  road  here  laid  out  was  apparently  what 
is  now  the  main  street  of  the  Center  Village  :  the  earliest  road 
went  over  the  high  ground  west  of  the  river  to  Lyndon. 

"Survey  bill  of  a  Road,  Beginning  in  the  County  Road  leading  from 
St.  Johnsbury  Plain  to  Lyndon,  at  the  west  end  of  the  Bridge  South  of  the 
Center  Village  in  St.  Johnsbury;  then  it  runs  E.  50<>  N,  18  Rods  8  links 
across  said  Bridge  to  a  stake  ;  then  N.  20f°  E.  43  Rods  10  links  to  a  stake  in 
the  road  west  of  Lewis  Pierce's  shop  ;  then  N.  25°  E.  25  Rods  to  a  stake  west 
of  Reuben  Spaulding's  barn  ;  then  N.  31°  E.  23  Rods  to  a  stake  ;  then  N. 
2£°  E.  57Rods  to  a  stake  about  4  Rods  south  of  Samuel  French's  house  ;  then 
W.  25°  N.  17  Rods  8  links  across  the  Bridge  on  the  River  ;  then  N.  27°  E.  40 
Rods  to  a  stake  ;  then  N.  20°  E.  18  Rods  into  said  County  Road.  Whole 
distance  being  232  Rods  11  Links,  Sept.  8,  1830." 

The  above  survey,  3  rods  wide,  was  made  under  direction 
and  oversight  of  Elias  Bemis,  Ariel  Aldrich,  Nehemiah  Bradley, 
Road  Commissioners,  and  by  their  authority  it  was  declared  open 
as  part  of  the  County  Road  from  St.  Johnsbury  to  Lyndon ;  the 
old  part  of  said  road  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  being  discont- 
tinued. 

CENTER   VILLAGE    ROADS 

Interesting  details  of  early  roads  and  bridges  in  and  near  the 
Center  Village  have  come  to  light  in  the  handwriting  of  H.  N. 
Roberts,  from  which  the  paragraphs  that  follow  are  taken. 

"At  first  the  only  road  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  going  to  Lyn- 
don. Samuel  French  was  then  living  about  100  rods  west  of  where  the 
Upper   Bridge   now   is.     He   wanted   to  move  over  to  the  east  side,  and  the 


52  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

town  let  him  the  job  to  build  a  bridge  across.  He  had  to  build  it  in  winter 
on  account  of  deep  water.  The  tresels  that  held  the  overlays  up,  they  had 
to  cut  holes  through  the  ice  then  raise  the  tresels ;  the  ice  made  a  stagion  for 
to  work  on.     It  was  an  open  bridge  and  built  in  1810." 

'  'At  that  time  there  was  no  Road  from  the  Bridge  into  the  Villiage  from 
that  way,  on  account  of  a  swamp  that  had  to  be  crossed  ;  the  Road  was 
made  on  the  same  WinteT  as  the  Bridge,  by  putting  on  large  quantities  of 
Brush  to  put  the  dirt  on  ;  it  was  mostly  built  by  volunteer  service,  the  town 
was  poor  at  that  time  and  the  road  was  much  needed."' 

"The  old  road  to  Lyndon  crossed  the  River  some  distance  above  the 
Brook  that  runs  to  the  Depot ;  a  heavy  rain  storm  washed  that  road  so  bad 
that  they  had  to  make  a  new  one.  This  one  was  on  the  South  side  of  the 
Brook,  by  so  doing  there  was  less  rise  to  get  to  the  west  part  of  the  town. 
Then  when  the  new  bridge  was  built  at  the  end  of  this  road  it  made  a  good 
way  to  get  into  the  Villiage.     This  was  built  about  1815." 

"The  road  through  the  Center  Villiage  is  part  way  the  same  as  always, 
except  the  lower  part  which  went  verry  near  the  Bank  of  the  River  back  of 
Capt.  Walter  Wright's  house  and  so  on.  Then  it  was  moved  to  the  other 
side  of  the  Wright  House  On  account  of  rise  from  the  Brook  each  way,  they 
made  a  higher  Culvert  and  graded  in  and  made  a  much  improved  road." 

"There  was  not  but  one  Road  on  the  East  side  of  the  River  that  came 
down  into  the  Villiage.  There  was  two  roads  that  came  as  far  as  the  Old 
Sanger  House,  then  united  there.  One  Road  went  in  a  north  east  direction 
over  rises  and  through  hollowsandcame  out  to  a  Brook  near  George  Halette's 
Place  and  then  on  to  Lyndon  Afterwards  it  was  altered  and  followed  the 
Brook  most  to  the  River,  then  by  the  side  of  the  River  into  the  Villiage,  as 
now.  The  other  started  from  the  Sanger  House,  went  in  an  East  direction 
but  was  a  verry  hard  Road  tJ  travel,  first  was  a  steep  sand  hill  and  some 
hard  rises  beyond.  After  a  few  years  they  throwed  that  up  finding  a  much 
better  place  for  one,  the  rises  being  much  less  and  coming  into  the  Villiage 
where  it  now  goes.     This  finishes  all  Roads  coming  into  the  Villiage." 

EAST   VILLAGE    VALLEY   ROAD 
THE  WOODPECKER   PETITION 

Until  1827  the  old  road  to  the  East  Village  ran  from  the  foot 
of  Sand  Hill  thro  Paddock  Village,  over  the  hills  of  the  town  farm 
and  the  Aaron  Farnham  place ;  there  was  also  the  road  by  the 
Higgins  farm.  Repeated  efforts  were  made  to  get  a  road  shorter 
and  freer  from  hills,  laid  out  thro  the  valley,  where  it  now  runs. 
This  proposition  was  strenously  opposed;  year  after  year  the 
town  went  against  it.  Finally  a  petition,  nicknamed  ''The  Wood- 
pecker Petition,"  signed  by  37  inhabitants  of  this  town,  and  simulta- 


MAKING  A  TOWN  53 

neously  a  like  Petition  by  13  men  of  Waterford,  was  presented  to 
the  County  Court,  May  1,  1827.  This  with  a  similar  petition  put 
up  in  April,  resulted  in  the  appointment  by  the  Court  on  May  21, 
of  a  commission  to  examine  and  report  whether  the  public  good 
required  alterations  in  the  old  road  or  the  laying  out  of  a  new 
one.  Jonathan  Jenness  of  Topsham,  Charles  Johnstone  of  New- 
bury, Robert  Whitelaw  of  Ryegate,  the  commissioners  appointed, 
met  at  the  end  of  the  turnpike  in  St.  Johnsbury  and  viewed  the 
ground  from  the  end  of  said  turnpike  to  John  Stiles'  in  Waterford, 
(Stiles' Pond).  They  decided  that  the  public  welfare  called  for 
a  new  road,  and  ordered  a  survey,  the  details  of  which  are  here 
given. 

"Beginning  between  John  Hill's  house  and  barn  in  St.  Johnsbury,  (half 
mile  this  side  Stiles'  Pond)  at  a  stake  marked  X,  then  it  runs  W.  22°  S.  136 
rods  to  stake  marked  X  ;  then  it  runs  W.  2i<>  S.  21  rods  to  Stake  marked  X— 
then  it  runs  W.  6<>  S.  14  rods  to  stake  marked  X— then  it  runs  W.  Si<>  N.  14 
rods  to  a  beech  tree  in  the  west  line  of  Ephraim  Paddock's  and  Hezekiah 
Martin's  land  in  center  of  the  old  road.  Also  another  piece  of  road  in  St. 
Johnsbury.  Beginning  on  the  West  side  of  Moose  River  one  half  rod  North 
from  an  old  hemlock  at  the  end  of  the  bridge  near  Josiah  Thurston's  (the 
town  farm)  then  it  runs  W.  15°  N.  six  rods  to  a  stake,  then  it  runs  20°  W.  12 
rods  into  the  old  road." 

"I  certify  that  I  made  the  above  survey  in  the  presence  of  Jonathan 
Jenness,  Charles  Johnstone  and  Robert  Whitelaw,  a  Commission  appointed 
by  the  County  Court  held  at  Danville,  within  and  for  the  County  Caledonia. 
The  above  described  line  was  surveyed  for  the  middle  of  the  road  and  said 
road  was  surveyed  four  rods  wide,  and  I  have  caused  stakes  to  be  set  at 
every  angle." 

Isaiah  Harvey,  C.  Surveyor. 

June  13,  1827. 

The  report  of  the  Commission  was  approved  by  the  Court, 
September,  1827,  and  it  was  ordered  that  said  road  be  laid  out 
and  established.  The  contract  for  building  the  new  road  was  taken 
by  Asa  Lee  whose  farm  was  at  the  bend  of  Moose  river;  from 
the  fall  of  1827  this  became  the  main  road  via  Paddock  Village  to 
the  East  Village,  Waterford  and  Portland.  On  the  15th  March, 
1853,  the  Court  was  petitioned  for  a  new  road  running  easterly 
from  the  Depot  to  cross  Passumpsic  River  and  strike  the  East 
Village  road  near  Aaron  Farnham's.     Calvin  Morrill  filed  a  bond 


54  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

in  $3000,  guaranteeing  the  construction  of  said  road,  which  was 
completed  two  years  later  and  is  now  the  populous  thoroughfare 
of  Portland  street. 

CENSUS  OF  1790 

For  St.  Johnsbury  Town,  County  of  Orange,  the  first  Census 
of  the  United  States  records  34  families,  143  inhabitants ;  of  these 
54  were  men,  55  were  women  and  girls ;  34  were  boys  under  16 
years  of  age.  Fifteen  families  had  no  boys.  Dr.  Arnold's  family 
numbered  12,  there  were  two  families  of  9 ;  and  three  of  8  each ; 
most  of  the  others  numbered  2  to  4.  Eight  heads  of  families  were 
among  the  original  grantees,  viz :  Jona.  Arnold,  Jona.  Adams, 
Martin  Adams,  Joseph  Lord,  Simeon  Cole,  Thomas  Todd,  Jona. 
Trescott,  William  Trescott.  The  other  26  were  John  Ayer,  Sam- 
uel Ayer,  Barnabas  Barker,  John  Barker  and  John  Barker,  Jona. 
Clifford,  Ezekel  Colby,  David  Doolittle,  Nath.  Edson,  Moses  Hall, 
Ira  Harvey,  John  Ladd,  John  McGaffy,  Moses  Noyes,  David  Park 
ard,  Richard  Parkard,  Bradley  Richards,  Jona.  Richards,  William 
Ripley,  Joel  Roberts,  Jona.  Robinson,  Eleazer  Sanger,  George 
Stiles,  Samuel  Stiles,  James  Thurber.     The  grand   list  was  $590. 

At  this  date  when  St.  Johnsbury  had  34  families,  Barnet  had 
45  ;  Peacham  62  ;  Danville  101 ;  Walden  2  ;  Newbury  144.  Total 
population  in  these  towns — St.  Johnsbury  143  ;  Barnet  477  ;  Peach- 
am  365  ;  Danville  574 ;  Walden  11 ;  Newbury  872. 

The  increase  of  population  by  births  and  immigration  for  the 
first  five  years  after  settlement  was  not  far  from  50  a  year,  on  the 
average. 

The  act  authorizing  the  first  Census  was  signed  by  President 
Washington  March  1,  1790.  This  was  one  year  and  three  days 
before  Vermont  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  Nine  months  were 
allowed  for  the  enumeration,  but  the  time  had  to  be  extended  till 
October,  1791.  This  made  it  possible  for  Vermont  to  be  included 
in  the  final  result,  and  the  figures  where  given  must  relate  to  the 
year  1791. 

This  being  the  first  Census,  people  were  suspicious  of  it  as 
being  a  scheme  for  increasing  taxation,  and  were  consequently 
cautious  about  revealing  their  affairs.     Some  opposed  it  also  on 


MAKING  A  TOWN  55 

religious  grounds,  contending  that  a  count  of  the  inhabitants 
might  incur  the  divine  displeasure  ;  as  in  1  Chron.  21 :  1-7.  It 
was  also  a  question  how  far  the  new  federal  authority  should  be 
recognized  in  such  a  matter.  The  main  object  of  the  Census  was 
apparently  to  ascertain  the  military  and  industrial  state  of  the 
country. 

At  that  date  there  were  twelve  states  in  the  Union  and 
Philadelphia  was  the  Capital ;  from  which  point  to  the  Federal 
City,  afterward  named  Washington,  was  an  eight  or  ten  days' 
journey.  The  three  largest  cities  were  New  York,  33,131 ;  Phila- 
delphia 28,522  ;  Boston  18,320  population. 

On  the  map  accompanying  the  Census  of  1790,  we  find  the 
River  Pooufoomuick ;  Littleton  for  Waterford;  Billymead  for 
Sutton;  Hopkins  for  Kirby;  and  Orange  County  including  all 
north  of  Windham  Co.  on  the  west  side  of  the  Green  Mountain 
range.  The  figures  of  this  census  for  New  England  were  printed 
in  Morse's  American  Gazetteer,  Boston,  1797.  A  special  edition 
was  issued  by  the  government  in  1907. 

PARISHES  ERECTED 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Selectmen  of  the  Town  of  St.  Johnsbury 
at  the  dwelling  house  of  Jonathan  Arnold  Esquire  on  the  21st  day 
of  June,  A.  D.  1790— present  Mr.  Joel  Roberts,  Dr.  Joseph  Lord, 
Mr.  Martin  Adams,  Selectmen  ;  Jonathan  Arnold  Town  Clerk. 

"Voted  and  resolved  that  the  Lines  for  dividing  the  several  Parishes  in 
the  Township  of  St.  Johnsbury  be  as  follows  : 

"Beginning  on  Danville  East  line  at  the  corner  between  Rights  14  and  23  ; 
thence  eastward  as  the  line  between  said  Rights  runs  to  the  west  line  of  Right 
No.  33  ;  thence  northward  in  the  west  line  of  Right  No.  33  to  the  north  west 
corner  thereof  ;  thence  in  the  north  line  eastward  to  the  west  line  of  Lot  C, 
part  of  Right  No.  36  ;  thence  in  said  line  to  the  northwest  corner  of  said  Lot 
C.  ;  thence  in  the  north  line  of  said  lot  last  mentioned  to  the  East  line  of  the 
town.  And  all  the  land  that  lieth  to  the  southward  and  eastward  of  said 
lines  within  said  Township  shall  be  and  hereby  is  erected  and  set  off  as  a 
separate  Parish  to  be  called  and  known  as  The  South  Parish  of  St.  Johns- 
bury. 

"Voted,  that  all  the  land  within  said  Township  lying  northward  of  said 
line  and  westward  of  Passumpsic  River  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected  into 
a  separate  Parish  to  be  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  The  West  Parish  in 
said  Township. 


56  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"Voted.  That  all  the  lands  in  said  Township  lying  northward  of  said 
line  and  eastward  of  the  Passumpsic  River,  including  the  Islands  in  said 
River,  be  and  they  hereby  are  erected  into  a  separate  Parish  to  be  known  by 
the  name  of  The  East  Parish  in  said  Township. 

"And  the  division  of  the  Town  into  Parishes  as  aforesaid,  is  designed  to 
enable  and  empower  the  Inhabitants  of  each  Parish  separately  to  make  such 
improvements  on  the  Public  Lands  within  their  parish  lines  as  they  think  fit ; 
which  improvements  so  made,  to  be  to  their  benefit  respectively  in  which  they 
are  made." 

Copied  from  the  minutes  of  Jona.  Arnold  Esquire,  former  Town  Clerk  ; 
Attest,  J.  L.  Arnold,  Town  Clerk.     Page  85,  Vol.  1,  Town  Records. 

The  Parish  lines  above  noted  as  traced  on  the  original  map 
of  the  Township  Rights  show  a  skilful  division  into  three  nearly 
equal  parts.  The  long  straight  line  first  described  between  lots 
14  and  23  ran  south-easterly  from  Danville  line,  somewhat  south 
of  Goss  Hollow,  south  of  Four  Corners,  south  of  Center  Village, 
north  of  East  Village,  to  the  Kirby  Line,  near  where  Moose  River 
enters  the  town.  Below  this  main  line  was  the  South  Parish, 
above  it  the  East  and  West  Parishes,  divided  by  Passumpsic  River. 
These  parish  divisions  were  rarely  referred  to  except  in  land  trans- 
fers during  the  earlier  years  ;  as  in  the  conveyance  of  land  by  Dr. 
Arnold  for  the  old  grave  yard  "situated  in  the  South  Parish," 
where  the  Court  House  now  stands. 

DISTRICTED   FOR   SCHOOLS 

In  March,  1795,  it  was  voted  that  the  town  be  districted  for 
schools,  and  two  years  after  the  Committee  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose reported  a  division  into  six  districts,  as  follows : 

"The  North  West  District,  to  begin  at  the  N.  W.  corner  of  the  Town, 
thence  running  southwardly  the  length  of  two  Rights  and  one  third,  then 
easterly  parallel  with  the  lines  across  three  Rights,  then  north  on  the  line  to 
Lyndon. 

"The  Corner  District,  beginning  at  the  S.  E.  corner  of  the  North  West 
District,  then  running  southwardly  two  Rights  and  f  rd,  then  westwardly  to 
the  Danville  line. 

"The  South  Westerly  District,  beginning  at  the  N.  E.  corner  of  No.  8, 
running  southwardly  to  Samuel  Barker's  north  line,  then  westward  to  John 
Ide's  land,  thence  south  across  the  Right  then  East  to  Jona.  Trescott's  barn, 
then  south  to  the  Littleton  line. 


MAKING  A  TOWN  57 

"The  City  District,  to  begin  N.  E.  corner  of  No.  8,  running  easterly  on 
said  line  to  the  River. 

"  The  Middle  District  y  from  the  Scott  lot,  beginning  at  the  north  line  of  the 
City  District,  running  north  on  the  River  to  Benj.  Doolittle's  south  line,  then 
easterly  on  said  line  to  the  S.  E.  Corner  of  No.  28,  then  northerly  2  rights, 
then  westerly  on  the  line  across  one  Right,  then  south  one  third  of  a  Right, 
then  westerly  across  2  Rights,  to  the  S.  E.  Corner  of  the  School  Right. 

"The  North  District,  bounded  on  the  Middle  district  on  the  south,  on 
the  North  West  District  on  the  west,  on  the  River  on  the  east,  on  Lyndon  on 
the  north. 

St.  Johnsbury,  March  4,  1797. 
John  Ladd  Stephen  Dexter  Nath'l  Edson        ] 

Moses  Tute  Reuben   Bradley  Joseph  Lord  \  Com. 

John  Ide  Jeriah  Hawkins  Joel  Hastings        J 

The  above  lines  are  difficult  to  trace ;  apparently  part  of  the 
town  was  not  sufficiently  settled  to  be  included  in  the  division  ; 
the  Middle  District  was  what  is  now  called  the  Center ;  the  City 
District  included  the  Plain,  but  its  boundary  lines  do  not  appear 
in  full  on  the  record.  In  1800,  Rights  23,  34,  45,  56  were  incor- 
porated into  a  new  District,  and  three  more  were  set  out  in  1804. 
From  that  date  to  the  present,  constant  changes  have  obliterated 
all  the  original  lines.  In  1884  there  were  16  districts  and  30 
schools.  By  act  of  Legislature  in  1892  the  old  district  system 
was  abolished,  the  property  belonging  to  the  several  districts  was 
appraised  and  taken  over  by  the  town,  and  the  entire  public 
school  system  was  committed  to  the  management  of  the  School 
Board  of  Directors. 

ANNEXATION  PROPOSED 

On  the  29th  of  October,  1791,  a  petition  was  put  up  to  the 
General  Assembly  by  the  land  owners  and  inhabitants  of  the  west 
part  of  Littleton,  now  Waterford,  to  be  set  off  from  Littleton  and 
united  to  St.  Johnsbury.     In  this  petition 

"it  is  humbly  shown  that  the  Inhabitants  of  St.  Johnsbury  being  Organized, 
and  amongst  whom  Law  is  known  and  Order  is  duly  observed,  and  having 
begun  to  provide  for  the  introduction  of  Regular  Schools  and  the  Preaching 
of  the  Gospel ;  for  these  reasons  in  an  especial  manner,  as  well  as  others,  we 
are  desirous  to  be  united  with  them,  that  we  and  our  Children  may  as  Citi- 
zens and  Christians  enjoy  those  valuable  advantages  as  early  as  may  be,  and 
which  without  such  Union  we  cannot  expect  to  do,  if  ever,  for  many  years." 


58  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

This  petition  was  referred  to  a  special  committee,  who  recom- 
mended that  in  view  of  insufficient  information,  action  be  de- 
ferred till  next  session.     The  matter  did  not  come  up  again. 

Annexation  of  the  small  triangle  of  Waterford  west  of  the 
river  and  this  side  of  Passumpsic  Village,  including  the  valuable 
Parks  farm,  was  prayed  for  101  years  later  at  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  1892.  The  result,  as  announced  in  the  Montpelier  Journal 
the  day  after,  was,  that  "the  northwest  corner  of  Waterford  is 
still  to  remain  in  Waterford  and  will  not  become  one  of  the  Parks 
of  the  Jerusalem  of  Vermont." 


A  BUNCH  OF  STORIES 


"And,  without  anecdote,  what  is  biography,  or  even  history." 

James  Russell  Lowell 


A  SENTIMENTAL  JOURNEY — ENOS  AND  JONATHAN — CYNTHIA  AND 
SOPHY — THE  WILLOW  SWITCH  FORECASTS  EVENTS — BLACK 
RUTH  AND  THE  CAT — BIRTHDAY  PARTY  AT  FOUR  CORNERS — 
THE  NIGHTINGALE  HEARS  SOMETHING — GOING  FOR  THE 
SICKLE — ELATHAN  AND  ICHABOD — PROPERTY  IN  THE  EAR — 
BEARS   OF    MOOSE    RIVER. 


ROMANTIC   DOINGS   AT   NUMBER  FOUR 

"Important  Sabine  elements  were  largely  intermixed  with  those  of  Latin 
origin  in  the  founding  of  Rome." 

Early  in  1790  the  death  of  Mrs.  Arnold  left  a  lonely  house  in 
the  new  settlement,  and  a  little  daughter,  Freelove,  seriously 
needing  a  mother's  care.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  the  Doc- 
tor, accompanied  by  Capt.  Enos  Stevens  of  Barnet  made  a  trip  to 
"No.  4,"  Charlestown,  N.  H.,  ostensibly  to  visit  the  Stevens 
homestead  but  with  ulterior  possibilities  in  view.  While  in  the 
home'  of  Lieut.  Samuel  Stevens  matters  were  talked  over  and 
presently  invitations  to  tea  were  issued  to  Cynthia,  daughter  of 
Lemuel  Hastings,  and  Sophy,  daughter  of  Elijah  Grout.  In  an- 
ticipation of  a  possible  emergency,  Mrs  Squire  West,  an  expert  in 


60  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

adjusting  situations,  was  also  invited.  It  turned  out  that  each  of 
the  visitors  from  Vermont  would  be  pleased  to  escort  Cynthia  to 
her  home,  but  the  skilful  diplomacy  of  Matron  West  secured  her 
to  Jonathan  and  assigned  Sophy  to  Seth.  The  ultimate  and 
felicitous  result  of  this  was  that  both  these  daughters  of  No.  4, 
migrated  with  their  husbands  to  Vermont. 

Sophy  at  first  encountered  some  paternal  reluctance,  grounded 
on  the  fact  that  Stevens  had  been  a  loyalist  during  the  revolu- 
tionary war ;  but  finally  she  was  told  that  if  she  was  determined 
to  marry  an  old  Tory  she  might,  only  all  she  could  take  from  the 
Grout  homestead  would  be  herself  and  one  cow.  This  it  seems 
was  satisfactory,  and  on  March  4,  1791,  she  set  out  with  her  hus- 
band for  Barnet.  Here  she  lived  till  her  death  in  1815,  and  here 
were  born  her  ten  children,  one  of  whom  was  Henry  Stevens,  the 
distinguished  antiquary,  referred  to  in  the  prefatory  note  of  this 
book. 

Dr.  Arnold  had  some  difficulty  in  persuading  Cynthia  Has- 
tings to  face  the  proposition  of  a  home  with  him  in  the  northern 
wilderness.  He  left  her  to  think  it  over  while  he  went  on  for 
some  business  matters  to  Rhode  Island.  Pending  his  return  her 
favorable  decision  was  arrived  at,  to  which,  it  is  said,  she  was  in- 
fluenced in  part  by  the  Doctor's  distinguished  services  both  in  the 
army  and  in  Congress  and  by  his  character  and  standing  as  a  man. 
They  were  "published"  Nov.  21, 1790,  but  the  date  of  marriage  is 
missing,  though  it  is  recorded  that  there  was  plenty  of  visiting, 
dancing  and  frolicking  on  the  occasion.  It  being  too  late  in  the 
season  to  carry  any  household  effects  through  the  forests,  they 
mounted  their  horses  with  the  few  things  that  could  be  tucked  in- 
to the  saddle  bags,  and  three  days  after  were  in  St.  Johnsbury, 
where  three  happy  years  were  spent  till  the  doctor's  untimely 
death. 

In  March  1791  they  both  attended  a  session  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, Arnold  being  one  of  the  Twelve  Councilors,  prior  to  the 
formation  of  the  Senate.  This  was  a  most  important  session,  for 
it  was  then  voted  to  accept  the  Federal  Constitution,  which  after 
fourteen  years'  opposition  on  the  part  of  Congress,  made  Vermont 
one  of  the  United  States.  After  adjournment  the  Arnolds  went 
directly  to  the  home  in  which  they  were  married  the  December 


A  BUNCH  OF  STORIES  61 

previous  ;  where  ' 'there  was  more  visiting,  frolicking  and  danc- 
ing," then  the  gathering  together  of  household  belongings  and 
final  departure  for  St.  Johnsbury. 

AN  INTERESTING  SWITCH 

After  mounting  her  horse  for  this  journey,  Dr.  Oliver  Hast- 
ings, her  cousin,  playfully  handed  Mrs.  Arnold  a  willow  switch,  re- 
marking that  when  she  had  no  further  use  for  it  on  the  horse  she 
might  plant  it  at  the  door  step  of  her  second  husband  ;  she  held  the 
switch  in  hand  till  the  end  of  the  second  day  when  they  spent  the 
night  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Ladd  of  Haverhill.  As  they  mount- 
ed the  next  morning  Mr.  Ladd  gave  her  a  fresh  stick  and  the  same 
evening  they  arrived  in  St.  Johnsbury.  Meantime  the  willow  had 
been  set  in  the  ground  by  Mr.  Ladd,  and  four  years  later,  she 
being  a  widow,  was  invited  by  him  to  come  as  his  wife  to  the 
Haverhill  house,  which  as  time  went  on  was  shaded  by  a  wide 
spreading  willow  tree,  the  upgrowth  of  her  little  riding  switch.  Of 
her  six  children  born  there,  one,  Mrs.  Eliza  Ladd  Swan,  spent  her 
last  years  in  St.  Johnsbury,  where  she  died,  Feb.  14,  1893,  at  the 
age  of  91  years. 

The  above  incidents  have  been  compiled  from  verbal  narra- 
tion to  the  writer  by  Henry  Stevens,  son  of  Enos ;  from  the  diary 
of  Capt.  Enos  Stevens ;  from  letter  of  Rev.  Pliny  H.  White, 
and  from  Sanderson's  History  of  Charlestown,  No.  4.  This  place 
was  the  site  of  Fort  No.  4,  the  last  of  a  chain  of  forts  extending 
up  the  valley  of  Connecticut ;  whence  the  name  then  in  current 
use. 

BLACK   RUTH   AND   THE    CAT 

"When  the  cat  knocked  the  nappy  off  the  shelf  in  the  old 
Arnold  home,  old  Black  Ruth  sent  out  for  the  children  to  come  in 
and  get  the  pieces."  Tradition  has  quoted  this  as  an  illustration 
of  the  superstitions  of  her  race  with  reference  to  the  cat.  A  more 
probable  interpretation  would  be  that  Aunt  Ruth  being  fond  of 
children  wanted  them  to  have  the  fragments  of  the  nappy  for  their 
little  play  houses.  This  Ruth  Farrow  was  a  negress  who  had  been 
given  to  the  Arnold  family  as  a  slave  in  Rhode  Island  prior  to 


62  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  abolition  of  slavery  there.  Dr.  Arnold  had  given  her  free- 
dom, but  she  said  she  would  rather  be  a  servant  of  the  family  for 
all  her  life.  She  had  her  wish,  living  fifty-three  years  in  this  town 
and  serving  three  generations  of  the  Arnold  family.  She  had  all 
the  good  qualities  of  her  race,  was  trusty  and  faithful  in  her  place, 
and  always  friendly  to  the  village  children,  as  many  of  them  in 
later  years  have  told  us. 

"Old  Aunt  Ruth,"  says  one,  reviewing  events  of  seventy 
years  before,  "was  the  first  black  person  we  youngsters  had  ever 
seen,  and  I  recall  the  curiosity  not  unmingled  with  fear,  which 
the  first  sight  of  her  in  1813  gave  me."  Another  says  "when  I 
was  a  child  I  used  often  to  see  Ruth  Farrow,  the  slave  who 
belonged  to  the  Arnold  family.  I  came  to  be  very  fond  of  her ; 
she  petted  me  and  told  me  stories.  When  she  died  and  was  buried, 
if  no  one  else  shed  a  tear  for  old  Black  Ruth,  I  know  at  least  one 
boy  who  did."  She  died  Jan.  1,  1841,  and  her  grave  is  with  the 
Arnold's  in  their  family  lot,  where  a  substantial  stone  bears  her 
name  and  age. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  Ruth  Farrow  of  those 
earliest  years  was  the  only  negro  who  ever  lived  any  very  long 
time  in  this  town  during  the  period  of  a  century  and  a  quarter; 
also  the  only  person  who  might  in  a  sense  be  called  a  slave  in  the 
State  of  Vermont ;  the  first  sovereignty  in  the  history  of  the 
world  to  prohibit  slavery  by  the  terms  of  its  Constitution. 

THE   PIONEER   AND   THE    SLAVE 

"Side  by  side  in  a  narrow  lot, 
In  a  quiet  unfrequented  spot, 
Are  two  most  unassuming  graves, 
The  pioneer's — the  faithful  slave's. 

"One  marble  slab,  white,  cut  with  care, 
And  one  of  slate,  dark,  low  and  bare 
Save  but  one  name — stand  o'er  these  graves, 
The  pioneer's— the  faithful  slave's. 

"And  yet  how  well  they  symbolize 
The  master's  and  the  servant's  lives  ; 
One,  white,  high-born,  both  free  and  brave, 
One,  dark,  in  bondage  born,  a  slave. 


A  BUNCH  OF  STORIES  63 

"Yet  both  did  serve— both  slaves  were  they, 
And  both  a  master  did  obey; 
Each  in  their  lives  exemplified 
The  true  slave  spirit  till  they  died. 

"But  in  his  varied  tasks  great  deeds 
One  saw  ;  he  served  his  nation's  needs  ; 
And  to  great  principles  was  nerved, 
And  one  knew  only  that  she  served.  ; 

"Side  by  side  in  these  quiet  graves 
Long  buried  lie  these  faithful  slaves  ; 
Both  servants  to  eternal  plans 
Yet  one  served  God's,  the  other  man's." 


C.  H.  H. 


Mount  Pleasant, 
March,  1903. 


WHAT   HAPPENED   AT   THE    BIRTHDAY   PARTY 

"Oft  times  sundrie  thinges  doe  falle  out 
betweeneye  cuppe  and  ye  lippe."  1588. 

In  1790  Eleazar  Sanger  brought  his  bride  Sabrina  Whitney 
from  Winchester  to  St.  Johnsbury  on  an  ox  sled.  He  had  built  a 
log  house  at  the  Four  Corners.  The  next  year  it  was  proposed  to 
celebrate  her  birthday.  Invitations  were  accordingly  issued  to 
Dr.  Arnold  and  his  wife  Cynthia,  to  Gen.  and  Mrs.  Joel  Roberts, 
to  Gardner  and  Martin  Wheeler  and  their  wives,  all  of  whom  came 
to  grace  the  occasion.  The  turkey  was  roasted,  the  nice  pewter 
service  was  set  out,  and  the  genial  company  of  ten  were  having  a 
merry  time  of  it  around  the  pine  table,  when 

"suddenly  the  floor,  insufficiently  supported  by  props,  began  to  slide  and 
cave  and  tunnel  cellarward!  dozun  went  the  table,  the  pewter,  the  turkey, 
gravy,  Doctor,  General,  host,  ladies,  floor  and  all!  Great  was  the  smash,  the 
scare;  and  the  laugh,  after  the  party  had  all  crept  up  safe  from  the  hole— for 
cellars  were  but  holes  in  those  primitive  huts,  and  men  and  women  could 
laugh  heartily  over  such  little  mishaps — the  pewter  plates  were  not  broken, 
the  floor  could  be  repaired." 

Dinner  parties  and  suppers  were  memorable  occasions  as  fam- 
ilies multiplied  in  the  settlement.  Houses  were  far  apart  but  all 
were  neighbors  and  managed  to  get  together.     On  a  crisp  winter 


64  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

evening  "the  oxen  were  gee'd  up  to  the  kitchen  door,  hitched  to 
the  sled  and  the  first  family  started ;  calling  then  for  the  next  fam- 
ily, and  the  next  on  the  way,  till  the  last  family  on  the  road 
had  joined  the  party.  Arriving  at  their  destination  this 
old  fashioned  surprise  party  stopped  at  the  log  mansion,  shook 
off  the  'buffalo  of  hay,'  unloaded  the  sled  on  the  great  stone  door 
step,  where  the  welcomings  and  greetings  were  so  hearty  as  to  be 
almost  deafening.  The  well  fatted  turkey  was  prepared  for  the 
spit,  the  pies  and  the  puddings  well  flavored  were  placed  for  baking, 
and  meanwhile  a  mug  of  hot  flip  came  not  amiss  after  the  cold  ride 
of  eight  or  ten  miles.  A  good  supper  and  joviality  and  sincere 
good-will  crowned  the  hour." 

THE  NIGHTINGALE  HAS  WIND  OF  A  BEAR 

St.  Johnsbury  at  this  time  was  in  Old  Orange  County.  There 
was  a  newspaper  called  "The  Orange  Nightingale  and  Newbury 
Morning  Star."  On  a  fragment  of  the  issue  of  The  Nightingale 
dated  August  25,  1776,  is  this  intelligence  : 

"We  hear  from  St.  Johnsborough  that  a  woman  employed  in 
carrying  dinner  to  some  men  who  were  at  work  some  distance 
from  her  house  was  attacked  by  a  bear,  and  before  her  cries  were 
heard  or  any  assistance  arrived,  was  mangled  in  such  a  condition 
that  she  expired."  Local  tradition  has  no  remembrance  of  this 
event,  tho  it  does  recall  that  a  woman  living  near  the  Danville 
line  was  afraid  to  go  from  her  cabin  to  the  brook  for  a  pail  of 
water,  because  of  bears.  Possibly  The  Nightingale  having  con- 
founded a  borough  with  a  bury,  also  got  the  bear  story  more 
tragic  than  it  was.     We  hope  it  did. 

GOING  FOR  THE  SICKLE 

One  day  in  1799,  Oney  and  Stephen,  boys  in  Hawkins'  Corner, 
were  sent  over  to  Goss  Hollow  to  borrow  a  sickle.  This  took 
them  across  the  Branch,  which  at  that  point  had  a  log  thrown 
across  it  for  a  foot  bridge.  Arriving  at  the  Goss  clearing  they 
found  the  sickle  had  been  lent  to  Gardner  Wheeler  over  at  the 
Four  Corners.      They  made  their  way  over  there,  got  the  sickle 


A  BUNCH  OF  STORIES  65 

and  brought  it  back  as  far  as  Goss  Hollow.  By  that  time  it  was 
nearly  night  fall,  so  a  man  accompanied  them  thro  the  woods  and 
got  them  safely  across  the  log  bridge.  From  that  point  the 
mother  of  Stephen  had  stumps  on  fire  to  keep  off  the  bears,  and 
soon  her  voice  was  heard  calling,  "boys!  boys!"  They  answered 
with  a  shout  and  waving  the  sickle  plunged  along  the  trail  till  they 
found  her.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  all  that  part  of  the  town  there 
was  only  one  sickle,  which  did  duty  from  Four  Corners  to  Goss 
Hollow  and  Hawkins  Corner,  now  known  as  Cole  Corner.  The 
home  to  which  the  sickle  came  that  day  was  a  loose  jointed  log 
cabin  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  thro  the  cracks  of  which  the  snow 
drifted  in  on  to  the  beds  when  the  winds  were  high  of  a  winter 
night. 

ELATHAN  AND  ICHABOD 

John  Ide,  revolutionary  soldier,  came  from  Rehoboth  to  St. 
Johnsbury  in  1792.  He  bought  150  acres  above  Crow  Hill  on  land 
which  now  includes  the  A.  F.  Lawrence  farm.  For  this  he  was  to 
pay  ;£l35  sterling ;  the  first  payment  in  hard  money  by  the  27th  of 
May  next  year.  Early  in  the  spring  he  started  his  family  for  St. 
Johnsbury,  with  ox  carts,  cows  and  horses.  Progress  thro  the 
woods  was  laborious,  and  payment  would  be  due  on  the  27th  be- 
fore they  could  reach  their  destination.  So  a  horse  was  detached 
from  the  team,  on  which  the  eldest  daughter,  Elathan,  age  18,  was 
mounted  with  the  money.  She  pushed  on  thro  the  forest  unat- 
tended, thirty  miles,  arrived  at  St.  Johnsbury,  paid  down  the 
money  on  the  date  due  and  secured  the  property.  This  farm  was 
on  the  original  right  of  Joseph  Fay  of  Bennington.  Near  by  were 
the  farms  of  Asquire  Aldrich,  John  Armington,  Nathaniel  Bishop, 
David  Lawrence,  Samuel  Bowker  and  Caleb  Wheaton,  all  of  whom 
came  about  the  same  time  from  Rehoboth. 

John  Ide  was  in  Capt.  Elisha  May's  company  of  volunteers  in 
the  war,  from  Attleboro.  He  was  the  father  of  thirteen  children ; 
nearly  all  the  Ides  of  this  and  neighboring  towns  are  his  descend- 
ants. 

Ichabod  Ide  when  a  young  man  found  a  stray  cow  which  he 
put  up  in  his  barn.     She  had  no  tail.   He  went  down  to  the  tavern 


66  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURV 

and  found  someone  who  got  him  a  bovine  tail.  This  he  managed 
to  attach  in  such  a  way  as  to  complete  the  apparent  outfit  of  the 
animal  in  his  barn.  Presently  a  man  came  along,  inquiring  if  a 
stray  cow  had  been  seen.  "Yes,"  said  Ichabod :  "one  came 
along  and  I  put  her  in  my  barn ;  perhaps  you'd  better  see  if  she  is- 
the  one  you  are  after."  The  man  went  in,  then  came  out  and 
said,  "She  looks  like  my  cow,  but  can't  be  the  one,  for  mine 
hasn't  got  any  tail"! 

PROPERTY  IN  THE  EAR 

r,He  shall  also  bring  him  to  the  door  or  unto  the  door  post ; 
and  his  master  shall  bore  his  ear  through  with  an  awl/' 

Cattle,  sheep  and  swine  had  large  liberty  of  self-support,  by 
roaming  about  and  foraging  for  themselves  as  in  all  early  settle- 
ments. For  identification,  especially  of  sheep,  it  was  arranged 
that  each  animal  should  carry  its  proprietor's  mark  on  the  ear. 
This  boring  of  a  hole  with  an  awl  through  the  ear  to  indicate  pro- 
prietorship was  not  wholly  a  modern  device,  as  we  learn  from  the 
twenty  first  chapter  of  Exodus,  though  in  this  ancient  case  the  op- 
eration seems  to  have  been  invited  by  the  owner  of  the  ear.  Cattle 
marks  were  duly  defined  by  entry  on  the  town  records  ;  the  first 
four  being  the  marks  of  Jonathan  Arnold,  Jonathan  Adams,  Jona- 
than Richards  and  Richard  Packard,  entered  July  6,  1792.  Three 
years  later  we  find  the  following  recorded.  "The  mark  of  Josias 
L.  Arnold  Esq.,  is  a  swallow's  tail  on  the  end  of  the  right  ear  and 
a  crop  off  the  left  ear,  being  formerly  the  mark  of  his  father,  Jona. 
Arnold,  recorded  on  the  first  page.  The  mark  of  Barnabas  Barker 
is  a  hole  through  the  left  ear.  The  mark  of  Nathaniel  Edson  is  a 
hole  through  the  right  ear  and  a  slit  in  the  same.  The  mark  of 
Joseph  Lord  is  a  cut  of  half  an  inch  on  the  top  of  the  right  ear 
and  about  the  middle  thereof,  and  a  half  penny  on  the  upper  side 
of  the  left  ear  near  the  head.  Recorded  the  2nd  day  of  May,  1795. 
Attest  J.  L.  Arnold  Town  Clerk."  The  liability  of  losing  sheep 
was  such  that  the  ear-mark  continued  in  force  as  late  as  1827,  one 
of  the  last  on  record  being  that  of  Hon.  Ephraim  Paddock,  viz: 
two  slits  on  the  under  side  of  the  left  ear  and  a  hole  through  the 
right  ear. 


A  BUNCH  OF  STORIES  67 

BEARS  OF  MOOSE  RIVER 

'"He  soon  found  that  the  bear  could  beat  him  in  dodging  behind  the 
tree,  and  in  desperation  he  set  out  to  run  toward  the  river." 

Bears  of  Blue  River. 

In  1795,  Asa  Lee  had  dealings  with  bears  on  what  was  after- 
ward the  Hovey  farm  on  the  East  Village  road.  In  early  spring 
the  cattle  just  turned  out,  came  up  at  night  one  cow  missing.  At 
this  date  the  bears  had  not  been  long  out  from  hibernation  and  they 
too  were  hungry.  Asa  started  out  at  once  to  look  up  the  missing 
cow.  He  found  five  bears  enjoying  their  supper  on  her  by  the 
river  side.  Cutting  a  big  club  he  drove  them  off  and  hung  his  blue 
frock  on  a  pole  as  warning  to  them  not  to  come  back ;  then  started 
over  the  hillside  to  get  Pres.  West  to  come  down  and  help  skin 
the  cow.  On  the  way  he  ran  upon  the  remnants  of  a  steer  he  had 
lost  some  while  before.  There  were  unmistakable  evidences  of  a 
struggle  on  the  spot.  The  bushes  were  trodden  and  broken,  bark 
was  torn  off  the  saplings  by  the  hind  claws  of  the  bears  whose  fore 
paws  were  on  the  steer  as  he  vainly  tried  to  pull  himself  away 
from  them.  Pres.  West  came  over  and  they  skinned  the  cow  but 
got  no  bears  that  time. 

Deborah  Lee,  daughter  of  Asa,  when  14  days  old  was  carried 
by  her  mother,  March  13,  1802,  thro  the  woods  to  Pres.  West's.  A 
bear  came  shambling  along  in  the  path  ;  the  mother  kept  cool  and 
quiet  as  she  stood  at  one  side  holding  her  baby.  Confronted  with 
the  sight  thereof,  this  bear,  like  the  one  foretold  by  the  prophet 
with  a  little  child  in  the  midst,  did  neither  hurt  nor  destroy,  and 
little  Deborah  and  her  mother  were  soon  happily  visiting  with  Mrs* 
West.  For  the  return  trip  however  thro  the  forest,  Judge  West 
thought  an  escort  desirable  ;  taking  up  the  baby  he  carried  her  in 
his  arms  and  deposited  her  safely  in  the  Lee  home. 

Four  or  five  years  later  the  father  of  Deborah  encountered  a 
bear  ;  at  first  the  bear  ran,  till  being  at  disadvantage  he  turned  on 
his  pursuer,  who  dodged  behind  a  big  rock.  The  bear  plunged 
around  on  the  other  side  and  charged  with  jaws  wide  open.  Lee 
met  the  onset  by  a  forceful  blow  on  the  jaw  of  the  bear  with  his 
gun  stock.     The  bear  grabbed  the  gun  with  his  teeth  and  devoted 


68  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

his  wrathful  energies  to  that,  till  Hopkin  Rowland  came  up  with 
another  gun  and  administered  a  final  sedative.  The  battered  gun- 
stock  was  kept  as  a  memento  of  the  occasion,  mountings  torn  off 
and  prints  of  bear  teeth  on  it. 

As  late  as  Oct.  17,  1833,  Lee  records  that  he  "shot  a  beare." 
This  was  up  near  the  Spaulding  Neighborhood.  The  bear  had 
been  for  some  while  rioting  thro  the  nights  in  the  cornfields.  One 
day  the  men  set  out  to  get  him.  They  found  him  in  a  deep 
thicket  of  the  woods,  and  got  some  shot  into  him.  As  he  plunged 
out,  two  men  on  either  side  attached  their  pitch  forks  to  his  neck 
and  Fred  Bugbee  grabbed  him  stoutly  by  one  hind  leg.  While  this 
procession  was  advancing  thro  the  underbrush  Asa  Lee  took  aim 
and  headed  off  further  visits  of  this  particular  bear  to  the  corn- 
fields. His  grandson,  Henry  Lee,  has  given  to  the  writer  the  de- 
tails above  recorded  of  these  true  bear  stories. 

Spaulding  Neighborhood  bears  retained  a  residence  down  to 
November  9,  1905,  on  which  date  two  of  them  strolled  out  to  see 
what  was  going  on.  Their  pelts  attracted  considerable  attention 
the  next  day  on  Railroad  Street. 


IV 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS 


DEATH  OF  DR.  ARNOLD— HIS  PERSONALITY— ANNOUNCEMENT  IN 
PROVIDENCE — LETTER  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  MONTROSE — A  SCHOLAR 
AND  POET  IN  THE  SETTLEMENT — ASPASIA  SAILS — ODE  TO  THE 
PASSUMPSICK — BLASTED  PLANS — REDISCOVERY  OF  THE  TOWN 
FATHER — PORTRAIT  IN  THE  ATHENAEUM — GOV.  ARNOLD  BORN 
IN  VERMONT — STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  FRAMED  HOUSE — A  HOUSE 
AT  THE  FOUR  CORNERS 


DEATH  OF  JONATHAN  ARNOLD 

Six  years  after  opening  his  homestead  lot  on  the  Plain  Dr. 
Arnold  was  stricken  with  dropsy  and  died  at  the  age  of  52.  He 
had  risen  rapidly  in  public  esteem  and  was  recognized  as  the  lead- 
ing man  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  was  chief  justice  of  Orange 
County,  trustee  of  the  University  of  Vermont,  member  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's Council  and  a  probable  candidate  for  the  governor's  seat 
had  he  lived. 

The  strength  of  his  personality  was  everywhere  felt.  He  was 
robust  in  frame,  of  saguine  temperament,  independent  mind  and 
positive  opinions.  Long  contact  with  public  men  and  affairs  of 
the  world  had  given  him  rank  as  a  leader ;  while  accessible  and 
companionable  he  always  maintained  an  undisputed  ascendancy  in 
this  new  settlement.  His  letters  indicate  familiar  acquaintance 
with  literature  and  a  genuine  religious  spirit.  Tho  suffering 
from  many  reverses  and  bereavements,  he  says  in  writing  to  a 
friend  :  "Nevertheless,  I  accuse  not  the  Sovereign  Arbiter  of  my 


70  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

fate,  but  adore  in  humble  gratitude  that  goodness  which  has 
spared  such  invaluable  blessings  so  long.  On  that  goodness  I 
rely  for  comfort  and  support  thro  the  residue  of  my  life  ;  "  again, 
"on  the  Rock  of  Ages,  on  which  foundation  alone  all  is  safe." 

Very  interesting  as  revealing  his  serious  thought  and  pater- 
nal solicitude,  is  a  letter  addressed  to  Hon.  Daniel  Cahoon  of  Win- 
chester, N.  H.,  in  whose  family  his  son  Josias  Lyndon,  had  been 
placed,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years.     He  says  in  part — 

"The  favorable  manner  in  which  you  express  yourself  respecting  Lyndon 
gives  me  the  highest  satisfaction.  I  find  by  his  letter,  that  he  is,  as  you  ex- 
press it,  contented  ;  and  more  so,  he  is  very  happy  in  your  family.  As  I 
have  the  vanity  to  think  he  does  not  want  for  natural  abilities  it  affords  me 
particular  pleasure  that  he  is  under  the  direction  of  a  person  capable  of  im- 
proving them  to  advantage.  Your  attention  to  him  particularly  in  forming 
his  moral  character  and  conduct,  will  bind  me  in  gratitude  beyond  the  power 
of  expression.  He  is  at  an  age  when  pernicious  principles  too  easily  sway 
the  ductile  mind.  I  must  therefore  entreat  you  my  dear  friend,  by  all  the 
tender  feelings  of  a  parent,  to  watch  over  him,  to  check  his  irregular  follies 
whether  of  conduct  or  sentiment,  and  in  short,  make  him  if  possible  what 
you  would  wish  him  if  he  were  yours.  Pardon,  my  dear  sir,  this  importunity 
which  I  can  assure  you,  proceeds  not  from  distrust  of  you  but  merely  from 
anxiety  for  him,  and  which  as  a  father,  you  must  at  times  most  sensibly  feel 
in  yourself. 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  GOD  in  favoring  me  with  a  com- 
fortable measure  of  health,  although  the  climate  disagreees  with  my  con- 
stitution. My  love  and  respects  wait  on  Mrs.  Cahoon,  and  regards  to  the 
family.  And  that  Heaven  may  preserve  and  bless  them  and  you,  is  the  sin- 
cere wish  and  prayer  of— Your  Friend  and  Humble  servant." 

Jona.  Arnold. 

This  letter,  written  and  franked  in  Philadelphia  by  Congress- 
man Arnold,  was  dated  Feb.  9,  1783,  just  ten  years  before  his 
death.  It  is  noteworthy  for  the  insight  it  gives  to  the  heart  of 
man.  He  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  fulfilment  of  his  high 
hopes  for  the  son,  who  however  survived  him  only  three  years. 

Announcement  of  Dr.  Arnold's  death  was  made  in  Providence, 
March  9,  1793,  as  follows : 

THE  HON.   JONATHAN  ARNOLD,    ESQ. 

who  departed  this  life  at  his  home  in  St.  Johnsbury  in  the  State  of  Vermont, 
was  a  native  of  this  town,  born  Dec.  3,  1741,  and  descended  from  one  of  the 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS  71 

first  settlers.  He  was  Representative  in  the  General  Assembly  and  Assistant 
to  the  Governor  and  Council.  He  was  educated  a  Physician,  and  was 
chosen  by  this  State,  in  the  late  war,  Director  of  Hospitals.  He  also  during 
the  war  commanded  the  Independent  Company  of  Grenadiers  of  this  town, 

"Among:  first  traits  of  his  character  was  a  peculiar  accuracy  in  penman- 
ship and  excellence  in  composition  ;  this  qualification,  at  an  early  period  in  his 
life  recommended  him  to  the  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court,  a  place 
which  he  filled,  as  he  did  every  other  office,  with  singular  ability,  integrity 
and  applause.  He  had  a  rare  taste  for  music  and  poetry,  and  was  himself  a 
proficient  in  both.  His  knowledge  was  practical,  and  the  objects  of  it  were 
the  best  interests  of  society.  The  improvements  made  by  him  in  mechanics 
evince  the  force  of  an  original  genius.  His  capabilities  were  general  and  varie- 
gated as  the  acts  of  human  life,  all  of  which  he  seemed  calculated  to  advance 
and  improve. 

"He  took  an  active  and  zealous  part  in  establishing  the  independence  of 
this  country.  He  hailed  men  of  all  nations  as  his  brethren,  and  gloried  in 
the  doctrine  of  their  natural  equality.  His  social  virtues  are  not  to  be  for- 
gotten. He  was  an  entertaining  companion  and  a  faithful  friend.  He  had 
power  to  strike  the  attention,  engage  the  affections,  and  attach  the  heart  in 
the  bands  of  friendship  ;  to  smooth  the  wrinkled  front  of  care,  and  calm  the 
mind  in  friendly  relaxation.  Let  the  reader  figure  the  most  extraordinary  as- 
semblage of  virtues  and  abilities— these  were  all  seen  in  the  real  life  of  Dr. 
Arnold." 

We  may  be  allowed  to  question  whether  the  real  life  of  the 
man  could  have  ever  rounded  up  to  the  extraordinary  assemblage 
here  suggested.  But  as  citizens  of  St.  Johnsbury  we  of  a  later 
century  are  not  averse  to  any  good  words  so  spontaneously 
spoken  of  our  Town  Father. 

The  correctness  of  one  clause  of  the  above  paragraph,  relating 
to  penmanship,  is  certified  on  a  letter  that  may  be  seen  at  the 
Athenaeum.  It  is  dated  St.  Johnsbury,  August  19,  1790,  and  on 
this  coarse  old  sheet  of  paper  the  handwriting  of  Dr.  Arnold  stands 
out  strong  and  bold,  not  unworthy  to  be  ranked  with  the  famous 
signature  of  his  compatriot  John  Hancock.  In  this  letter  reference 
is  made  to  the  lonely  circumstances  which  occasioned  his  trip  down 
below  and  the  romantic  doings  narrated  in  the  preceeding  chapter. 

The  following  paragraph  from  a  letter  addressed  to  His  Grace 
the  Duke  of  Montrose  by  Lieut.  Col.  John  A.  Graham  LL.  D. 
was  published  in  London: 

"The  first  principal  proprietor  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  was  the  truly  pa- 
triotic and  learned  Dr.  Jonathan  Arnold,  who  is  now  no  more.     The  Doctor 


72  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

emigrated  from  Providence  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island.  How  sincerely  fits 
death  is  lamented,  those  only  who  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  him  can 
tell.  His  son  Josias  Lyndon  was  bred  to  the  law,  to  which  profession  he 
does  honor.  With  the  Greek  and  Roman  authors  he  is  familiar,  and  how- 
ever strange  it  may  appear,  perhaps  Mr.  Arnold  is  the  only  person  in  Ver- 
mont who  is  perfect  master  of  the  the  French  language  and  who  speaks  it  in 
its  utmost  purity.  St.  Johnsbury  lies  on  the  Passumpsic  River  and  to  this 
town  is  attached  some  of  the  best  land  in  the  State." 

Josias  Lyndon  Arnold  Esquire,  referred  to  in  the  above 
quotation  and  foregoing  paragraph,  was  born  April  22,  1768,  and 
came  from  Rhode  Island  to  St.  Johnsbury  in  1793,  succeeding  to  his 
father's  position  in  the  town.  His  life,  though  short  was  uncommonly 
brilliant  in  prospect.  He  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College 
with  high  honors  in  the  class  of  1788,  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Rhode 
Island,  elected  tutor  in  Brown  University,  received  in  1791  the  de- 
gree of  A.  M.  from  Brown  and  was  admitted  ad  eundem  at  Dart- 
mouth and  Yale.  He  married  Miss  Susan  Perkins  of  Plainfieldr 
Conn.,  removed  to  Vermont  in  1793,  where  he  died  of  hemoptysis 
July  7,  1796  at  the  age  of  28  years. 

The  year  following  his  death  a  volume  was  published  in  Prov- 
idence, entitled  :  Poems  by  the  Late  Josias  Lyndon  Arnold  Esq.  of 
St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  From  the  preface,  written  by  James  Burrill  Jr, 
the  following  paragraph  is  taken. 

A    SCHOLAR  AND  POET 

"Of  Mr.  Arnold's  merit  as  a  man  and  a  scholar,  impartiality  will  say 
much  and  even  envy  something.  While  in  Dartmouth  College  he  had  given 
splendid  proofs  of  his  poetical  talents,  and  acquired  the  reputation  of  un- 
common attainments  in  all  the  ornamental  and  useful  branches  of  literature. 
His  acquaintance  with  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  and  the  best  English 
writers  in  history  and  the  belles-lettres  was  intimate.  His  knowledge  of  the 
vernacular  and  learned  languages  was  critical.  With  an  imagination  bold 
and  fruitful  he  possessed  an  understanding  cool  and  discriminating.  Indulg- 
ing in  the  fanciful  flights  of  the  muse  he  was  equal  to  the  calm  discussions 
of  reason.  His  penetrating  physiognomy  denoted  the  strength  of  his  under- 
standing and  the  keenessof  his  observation.  No  one  of  his  age  received  more 
flattering  proofs  of  public  approbation.  His  political  prospects  were  bright 
and  promising  and  few  have  had  stronger  reasons  for  attachment  to  life ;  but 
alas!  the  strength  of  his  constitution  was  unequal  to  the  energy  of  his  mind." 

Mr.  Arnold's  verse  has  little  permanent  value  except  as  illus- 
trating the  literary  tastes  of  that  period  in  New  England  ;  largely 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS  73 

imitations  of  the  Latin  and  Celtic  poets,  with  odes  and  epigrams 
of  a  moralizing  turn.  The  most  graceful  versification  in  the  book 
is  entitled 

LINES  ON  A  YOUNG  LADY'S   TAKING  A   VOYAGE 

"Ye  winds,  be  hush'd — forbear  to  roar 
Ye  waves,  nor  proudly  lash  the  shore; 

Be  hush'd,  ye  storms,  in  silence  sleep, 

Nor  rage  destructive  o'er  the  deep. 
Aspasia  sails — and  at  her  side 
The  Beauties  on  the  ocean  ride. 

"Rise,  Neptune,  from  thy  coral  bed, 
And  lift  on  high  thy  peaceful  head ; 

Calm  with  thy  rod  the  raging  main 

Or  bid  the  billows  rage  in  vain. 
Aspasia  sails— and  at  her  side 
The  Graces  on  the  ocean  ride. 

"Attendants  of  the  watery  god 

Ye  Tritons,  leave  your  green  abode  ; 
Ye  Nereids,  with  your  flowing  hair 
Arise  and  make  the  nymph  your  care. 

Aspasia  sails — and  at  her  side 

The  Muses  on  the  ocean  ride. 

"Thou  sea-born  Venus,  from  thine  isle 
Propitious  on  the  voyage  smile  ; 

Already  anxious  for  the  fair, 

Thy  winged  son  prefers  his  prayer. 
Aspasia  sails— and  at  her  side 
The  Loves  upon  the  ocean  ride. 

"Let  all  attend — and  bid  the  breeze 
Blow  softly— bid  the  swelling  seas 

Swell  gently — for  such  worth  before 

The  ocean's  bosom  never  bore. 
Aspasia  sails— and  at  her  side 
The  Virtues  on  the  ocean  ride." 

Arnold's  fondness  for  Greek  and  Latin  literature  appears  in 
numerous  vesified  translations  from  the  poets — Catullus,  Horace, 
Theocritus  and  others.      Introductory  to  one  of  these  he  avows 


74  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

himself  an  admirer  of  the  quaint  rugged  style  of  Sternhold  and 
Hopkins,  and  adopts  it  for  a  translation  of  the  Horatian  Ode 

EXEGI  MONUMENTUM 

1.     "Of  fame  a  mighty  monument 
In  time  erect  will  I, 
Than  brass  more  hard  and  durable, 
Or  eke  eternity. 

4.     "Nor  yet  of  time,  full  fwift  that  flies, 
The  tooth  devour  fhall  never  ; 
For  ftand  fhall  this  fame  monument 
Like  rocks  and  mountains  ever." 

Published  in  Dartmouth  Eagle,  1793 

Howbeit,  literature  in  its  visible  embodiment  is   not  proof 
against  the  ravages  of  the  book  worm  ;  wherefore  this 

SACRIFICE   OF   A  MOTH  TO  THE  MUSES 

"Approach,  O  Moth,  thou  puny  creature  ; 
Approach,  thou  prodigy  of  nature  ; 
Who  bearf't  about  a  body  fmall 
But  yet  a  belly  vast  withal. 
Thou  dost  with  facrilegious  jaw 
The  poet's  facred  labours  gnaw  ; 
Lo  !  the  examples  thou  hast  left 
Of  thy  voracity  and  theft. 
Here's  Lesbia  the  Muse's  child, 
And  fweet  Catullus  almost  fpoil'd 
Virgil,  renowned  for  Epic  ftory — 


Step  forth,  thou  villain  ; 

Step  forth,  meet  punishment  to  pay 

For  all  thy  crimes!" 

The  monster  is  summarily  executed,  his  skin  punctured  with 
stabs  is  dedicated  to  the  Nine  Muses  to  be  set  up  as  a  trophy  on 
the  heights  of  Parnessus. 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS  75 

A  touch  of  local  interest  contrasting  aboriginal  scenes  with 
the  ripening  cornfields  of  the  town  in  the  month  of  September 
1790,  survives  in  the 

ODE  WRITTEN  ON  THE  BANKS  OF  PASSUMPSIC  RIVER 

"Passumpsick  hail!  who  glid'ft  along 
Unknown  to  melody  and  fong, 

***** 

Reflecting  in  thy  watery  glafs 

Wide  fpreading  elms  and  baffwoods  high 

And  pines  that  kifs  the  ambient  fky. 

"Thy  ftream  which  runs  like  fancy's  child, 
Irregular  and  fweetly  wild, 
Oft  on  its  margin  has  beheld 
The  Sachem  and  his  tawny  train 
Roll  the  red  eye  in  vengeful  ire 
And  lead  the  captive  to  the  fire. 

"Now  fairer  fcenes  thy  banks  adorn  ; 
Yellow  wheat  and  waving  corn 
Bend  in  gratitude  profound 
As  yielding  homage  to  the  ground. 

"Passumpsick,  hail!  who  glid'ft  along 
The  theme  of  many  a  future  fong ; 
Had'ft  thou  a  wifh,  that  wifh  would  be 
Still  on  thy  banks  fuch  fcenes  to  fee. 
Where  innocence  and  peace  are  found 
While  vice  and  tumult  vex  the  earth  around." 

J.  L.  Arnold  at  the  date  of  his  death  was  town  clerk  and  rep- 
resentative to  the  General  Assembly.  Had  he  lived  he  would  have 
ranked  among  the  cultured  and  influential  men  of  the  state.  His 
widow,  Mrs.  Susan  P.  Arnold,  was  remarried  and  removed  to 
Woodstock,  but  St.  Johnsbury  retains  thro  her  a  quasi-claim  of  re- 
lationship to  her  distinguished  son  the  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh,  the 
accomplished  linguist  and  author,  member  of  Congress  from  Ver- 
mont, 1842-1849;  United  States  Minister  to  Turkey  1849-1853;  and 
to  the  new  Kingdom  of  Italy,  1861-1882. 

In  a  writing  by  one  of  the  early  town  officers  we  find  this  al- 
lusion  to  the  Arnolds  :     "The   father  had  chosen  for  his  family 


76  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

seat  a  plain  near  the  south  part  of  the  town.  The  son  occupied 
the  same.  They  looked  to  that  spot  as  the  seat  of  the  future  vil- 
lage ;  the  design  being  to  parcel  out  the  plain  into  small  lots  suffi- 
cient for  garden  and  necessary  buildings.  Everything  was  favor- 
able. The  leading  roads  almost  unavoidably  centered  here.  The 
situation  was  favorable  for  building.  On  its  border  were  excel- 
lent seats  for  mills,  and  for  all  kinds  of  machinery  requiring  the 
aid  of  water.  The  short  life  of  the  father,  and  still  shorter  of  the 
son,  blasted  all  these  prospects  and  destroyed  the  design  of  the 
Doctor,  which  was  to  build  up  a  city  around  him." 

The  Arnold's  were  buried  in  the  old  grave  yard  that  had  been 
deeded  to  the  town  by  the  Doctor  in  1790.  The  family  lot  was 
near  the  north  west  corner.  When  this  ground  was  appropriated 
for  the  Court  House  in  1856  they  were  reburied  in  the  Mount  Pleas- 
ant Cemetery.  Near  the  height  of  land  beside  the  main  road  is 
the  plain  marble  stone  that  carries  on  its  east  face  the  inscription 

HON.  JONATHAN  ARNOLD 

Died  Feb.  1,  1793.     Aged  52 

The  Arnolds  traced  their  family  origin  to  Yuir,  King  of  Guent- 
land  and  Yuir,  second  son  of  Cadwaladr  King  of  the  Britons.  He 
built  the  Castle  of  Abergavenny,  Monmouthshire,  Wales. 

REDISCOVERY  OF  THE  TOWN  FATHER 

In  the  summer  of  1898  a  gentleman  from  New  York  City 
spending  a  few  hours  between  trains  in  St.  Johnsbury  called  at 
The  Sheepcote  on  Park  Street.  He  expressed  great  interest  in 
the  attractiveness  of  the  village,  which,  as  presently  appeared, 
meant  more  to  him  than  to  the  ordinary  stranger.  For  here,  in  1792, 
was  born  his  grandfather,  Gov.  Lemuel  Hastings  Arnold,  son 
of  Jonathan  and  Cynthia  Hastings  Arnold ;  he  himself  being  the 
third  of  that  name  and  his  young  son  the  fourth.  An  important 
result  of  that  pleasant  call  was,  some  while  later,  a  proposition  to 
present  to  the  town  an  oil  portrait  of  its  founder.  The  painting 
was  according  executed  by  Richard  Criefield,   a  New  York  artist 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS  77 

from  a  miniature  supposed  to  have  been  made  in  Philadelphia  in 
1782,  while  Dr.  Arnold  was  a  member  of  Congress  in  that  city. 
This  portrait  done  on  porcelain,  was  given  by  Gov.  L.  H.  Arnold 
to  his  daughter  Mrs.  Aborn  of  Orange,  N.  J.,  and  is  the  only 
original  likeness  known. 

On  the  25th  of  Nov.  1898,  Mr.  Lemuel  H.  Arnold  and  his 
family  came  on  from  New  York.  They  were  met  by  a  company 
of  citizens  who  had  assembled  in  the  Art  Gallery  of  the  Athe- 
naeum where  the  picture  had  just  been  hung.  After  a  few  grace- 
ful words  from  the  donor  the  veil  was  drawn,  and,  for  the  first 
time  in  our  lives  we  looked  on  the  face  of  our  Town  Father.  What 
we  saw  was  not  the  rugged  features  of  a  pioneer  woodchopper, 
but  a  courtly  figure  in  velvet  and  ruffles,  with  powdered  hair,  of 
refined  and  benignant  countenance. 

This  was  the  man  who,  early  and  late  and  against  great  odds, 
had  defended  in  Congress  the  little  sovereignty  set  up  and  pluck- 
ily  maintained  for  fourteen  years  by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys — 
who  had  brought  to  the  founding  of  this  town  high  distinction  as 
a  legislator  and  able  leader  of  men.  The  portrait  hangs  in  the 
north  alcove  of  the  Art  Gallery  and  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : 

JONATHAN  ARNOLD 

founder  of  st.  johnsbury 

presented  to  the  town 

by  his   great  grandson 

Lemuel  Hastings  Arnold 

1898 

Lemuel  Hastings  Arnold  the  first,  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Cynthia  Hastings  Arnold,  was  born  Dec.  29, 1792,  in  the  old  house 
at  the  head  of  the  Plain.  He  was  educated  at  Providence  and 
Dartmouth  College,  class  of  1811 ;  was  Governor  of  Rhode  Island 
1841-1842  ;  a  member  of  Congress  1845-1847  ;  died  at  Kingston, 
June  27, 1852.  At  the  time  when  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  office 
of  Governor,  the  political  journals  of  the  day  disclose  a  curious  bit 
of  information  cited  against  him.  "During  the  canvass  and  in  the 
heat  of  the  electioneering  campaign  conducted  upon  the  high  pres- 


78  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

sure  principle,  a  zealous  Jackson  man  lustily  accused  Mr.  Arnold 
of  having  been  born  in  VermontV  Notwithstanding  this  untoward 
circumstance  he  was  elected  by  a  handsome  majority  and  did 
honor  to  the  state  of  his  birth  as  well  as  the  state  of  his  adoption. 
"Gov.  Arnold  was  a  man  of  very  high  character,  much  respected  for 
his  many  virtues  public  and  private,"  "an  accomplished  scholar 
and  ripe  statesman." 

A  DWELLING  HOUSE 

"Now  wyll  I  shewe  hystorycallye  ye  forme  and  fashyon  of  that  thynge." 

Bale 

THE    FIRST  HOUSE  IN  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

In  the  spring  of  1787  Dr.  Arnold  got  an  up  and  down  lumber 
saw  into  position  at  The  Falls  near  the  present  village  water 
works.  Here  were  turned  out  the  boards  and  timbers  which  he 
presently  jointed  together  into  a  small  dwelling  house  just  above 
the  Park  that  now  bears  his  name.  Except  the  little  clearing  he 
had  made  at  this  point  the  entire  Plain  was  a  dense  forest.  This 
was  the  first  and  for  a  long  time  the  only  framed  house  in  the 
township.  It  was  evidently  intended  for  temporary  housing  only, 
a  lodge  in  the  wilderness.  It  was  low  posted,  24  by  30  feet  square, 
of  rough  boards,  unclapboarded,  roofed  with  split  shingle.  A 
cobble  stone  fireplace  and  chimney  furnished  necessary  comfort 
and  cooking  facilities.  Four  years  later  the  cobblestones  were 
pulled  out  making  way  for  brick,  manufactured  on  the  hillside  by 
Asa  Lee,  a  brickmaker  recently  arrived  in  the  settlement.  The 
interior  of  the  house  was  described  by  someone  who  remembered 
it  in  its  first  estate  as  being  pretty  much  all  one  room.  There 
were  six  arm  chairs  that  had  been  brought  up  from  Rhode  Island. 
One  of  them  still  survives  in  this  vicinity.  The  house  fronted 
the  east,  the  large  room  was  presumably  the  south  gable  end  look- 
ing toward  the  street  that  was  to  be. 

This  one  room  arrived  at  some  measure  of  distinction  in  the 
little  community,  becoming  the  center  of  various  happenings, 
social,  business,  official  and  other,  which  would  naturally  call  the 
six  arm  chairs  into  requisition.    In  it  was  held  the  first  Proprietor's 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS  79 

Meeting  of  August  6,  1787,  at  which  the  undesignated  Township 
Rights  were  drafted  for,  the  lots  having  first  been  shuffled  and 
then  drawn  by  Daniel  Cahoon,  Jr.,  and  William  Trescott.  Here 
the  organization  of  the  town  was  effected  in  1790  at  "the  first  town 
meeting  ever  held  in  said  town."  In  this  room  on  the  17th  of 
January,  1793,  a  bright  fire  blazing  on  the  hearth,  Eneas  Harvey 
and  Rhoda  Smith  produced  the  requisite  legal  publication  and 
were  "joined  in  marriage  by  Jonathan  Arnold,  Esquire,  in  the 
presence  of  several  witnesses" — the  first  wedding  party  in  our 
town. 

In  the  third  year  a  shadow  fell  upon  the  house,  when  its 
gentle  mistress,  Mrs.  Alice  C.  Arnold,  succumbed  to  the  rigor  of 
pioneer  life,  leaving  a  little  daughter,  Freelove,  in  its  lonely 
rooms.  Old  Aunt  Ruth,  attended  to  the  domestic  affairs  ;  she  was 
the  negress  who  had  been  given  as  a  slave  to  the  Arnold  family  in 
Rhode  Island ;  she  was  set  free,  but  chose  to  remain  a  servant  for 
life,  and  lived  in  the  service  of  the  family  in  this  town  53  years. 
She  was  kind  and  trusty  and  capable,  a  fine  specimen  of  her  race. 

To  this  house  in  the  wilderness,  so  unlike  the  well-appointed 
home  of  her  parents  in  Charlestown  No.  4,  Dr.  Arnold  brought  his 
third  wife,  Cynthia  Hastings,  after  the  romantic  events  of  Nov- 
ember, 1790,  narrated  on  page  59.  Her  son,  Lemuel  Hastings 
Arnold,  born  under  these  low  rafters  the  year  following,  lived  to 
become  distinguished  among  the  Governors  of  Rhode  Island  and 
a  member  of  Congress. 

The  house,  more  or  less  improved  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Arnold 
during  the  six  years  of  his  life  here  ;  then  by  his  gifted  son,  Josias 
L.  Arnold,  whose  career  of  brilliant  promise  continued  only  three 
years, — his  widow,  Mrs.  Susan  P.  Arnold,  afterwards  removed  to 
Woodstock.  William  C.  Arnold,  1st,  another  son,  was  then 
master  of  the  house  for  some  years,  after  which  it  was  abandoned 
by  the  Arnold  family  altogether. 

Unfortunately  it  did  not  immediately  arrive  at  its  baptism  of 
fire,  but  as  time  went  on  it  fell  into  ill  condition  and  for  a  long 
time  it  stood  an  empty  and  unsightly  reminder  of  the  primitive 
settlement.  Children  began  to  be  shy  of  it  especially  toward 
nightfall.     They  heard   wierd  talk  that  'twas  a  haunted   house, 


80  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

whatever  that  might  mean.      Longfellow  had  not  then  explained 
that 

1  'All  houses  wherein  men  have  lived  and  died 
Are  haunted  houses." 

So  the  children  of  1840  looked  askance  at  the  old  deserted 
house  and  went  on  wondering.  It  seemed  inclined  to  hug  more 
closely  to  mother  earth  as  it  grew  aged  and  infirm.  "The  last  time 
I  was  there,"  said  George  Aldrich,  "the  door  sill  was  lower  than 
the  ground  outside."  Soon  the  earth  would  have  it  altogether; 
"nos  habebit  humus."  On  the  morning  of  June  8,  1844,  the  spot 
where  it  stood  was  marked  by  a  heap  of  smouldering  ashes. 
What  had  happened  is  told  by  a  contemporary  writer  : 

"The  old  Arnold  House  at  the  head  of  the  Plain,  the  first  framed  house 
erected  in  this  town,  and  whose  darkened  and  ragged  walls  had  sent  forth 
dark  shadows  for  some  time  past,  last  Saturday  morning  a  little  before  one 
o'clock,  as  if  to  make  amends  for  the  past,  lighted  up  and  burning  with  in- 
tense brightness  illumined  the  night  the  whole  region  around.  In  half  an 
hour  the  old  patriarchal  heap  expired  in  its  own  brightness.  When  morning 
was  fully  come,  casting  a  glance  toward  the  scene  of  its  location,  we  beheld 
some  of  our  citizens  to  whom  by  long  residence  in  this  place,  this  old  house 
had  become  familiar,  with  slow  pace  and  mournful  sadness  treading  the 
spot,  calling  to  mind  the  story  of  the  lamentations  of  Marius  amid  the  ruins 
of  Carthage." 

Now  inasmuch  as  the  Presidential  election  that  year  did  not 
come  on  till  five  months  later,  the  picturesque  and  entertaining 
story  that  this  old  derelict  was  bon-fired  by  the  Locofoco  boys  in 
their  exuberant  demonstrations  for  Polk,  will  have  to  be  dropped 
amongst  the  chips  of  local  folk  lore. 

Undoubtedly  the  primitive  structure,  having  quite  outlived  its 
usefulness  did  the  best  possible  thing  for  itself  by  vanishing  from 
the  scene  in  a  blaze  of  light.  The  town  met  with  a  most  serious 
loss  in  the  early  death  of  Dr.  Arnold ;  had  he  lived  he  would 
doubtless  have  erected  on  that  spot  a  building  more  worthy  of  his 
ideals  and  of  his  rank  as  a  man,  that  might  continue  to  front  the 
noble  street  that  he  opened  through  the  forest.  As  to  this  little 
box  of  a  house  that  so  inadequately  represented  the  founder  of  our 
town,  neither  our  curiosity  nor  our  liking  for  old  time  relics  would 


THE  PASSING  OF  THE  ARNOLDS  81 

delight  in  such  a  dilapidated  specimen  sitting  permanently  on  the 
scene.  The  little  park  with  lawn  and  trees  and  ornamental  foun- 
tain fringed  with  baby  carriages  of  a  summer's  day  much  more 
pleasantly  perpetuates  the  name  and  site  of  the  first  framed  house 
in  our  town. 

A  HOUSE  AT  THE    FOUR  CORNERS 

William  Comstock  Arnold,  son  of  Jonathan,  built  a  large 
square  house  on  the  height  of  land  near  the  Four  Corners,  in  1798. 
The  material  used  was  mostly  pine.  Much  of  the  inside  finish  was 
brought  by  ox  team  from  Connecticut.  The  floors  were  of  two- 
inch  pine  plank,  tongued  and  grooved.  The  rafters  were  mortised 
into  a  ridge  pole  of  pine  seven  by  seven  inches  thick.  "The 
broad  stairs  still  give  back  a  resonant  ring,  with  never  a  creak ; 
and  on  the  second  floor  may  be  seen  one  corner  of  what  was  orig- 
inally a  ball  room,  with  the  floor  marked  in  diamonds  to  aid  in 
toeing  the  stately  minuet." 

This  building  stood  for  about  eighty  years  unpainted  ;  it  is 
still  firm  and  plumb  on  its  original  foundations ;  the  hand  made 
clapboards  are  fastened  to  their  place  with  old  hand  made  nails. 
For  one  hundred  years  it  was  occupied  by  the  Arnolds  ;  it  is  now 
owned  by  Guy  C.  Wright  and  is  known  as  the  Century  House  of 
the  Four  Corners. 


VII 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS 


BDSON'S  TAVERN — NEWSPAPERS — THE  MISSING  WHEEL — PUL- 
PITEERING— THE  FOUR  CORNERS — FARM  HANDS  ENCOURAGED 
— GOSS    HOLLOW — A    LITTLE    ROMANCE— GENERAL    OF   MILITIA 

MILITARY       DISPATCHES — NEW       BOSTON— LITTLE       YORK — 

SANGER'S  MILLS — SUNDRY  LOCALITIES— THE    EAST    VILLAGE — 
HARVESTING  APPLES 


AT  THE  EDSON  TAVERN 


In  1797  Nathaniel  Edson  built  what  was  then  the  most  no- 
table house  in  the  town,  on  the  plateau  overlooking  the  Passumpsic 
River  meadows  a  mile  south  of  the  present  Center  Village.  It  was 
more  widely  known  after  1810  as  the  Butler  place ;  occupied  by 
Major  Abel  Butler  and  his  descendants,  three  generations.  Today 
the  house  looks  as  if  conscious  of  a  pristine  glory  long  since  de- 
parted ;  some  hint  of  which  may  still  be  detected  in  its  dignified 
outline,  its  antique  doorway,  its  capacious  old  chimney.  The 
ground  in  front,  now  a  dumping  place  for  old  iron  and  miscellane- 
ous junk,  was  once  the  spacious  Green,  enlivened  by  the  tramp  of 
militia  at  June  trainings  or  by  the  out  spread  tables  of  festive 
junketings. 

When  the  house  was  new  it  was  considered  a  good  place  for 
town  meetings.  In  1798  a  vote  was  passed  that  the  town  will 
agree  to  hold  their  meetings  at  Esquire  Edson's  house  in  the 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS  83 

future.  It  occured  to  some  one  that  it  might  be  well  to  "enquire 
of  the  said  Edson  for  the  liberty  and  use  of  his  house?"  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  wait  on  said  Edson.  The  committee  re- 
ported that  the  said  Nathaniel  Edson  gives  consent  that  the  town 
shall  hold  a  meeting  at  his  house  on  March  next,  but  not  there- 
after. It  seems  probable  that  considerable  use  was  made  of  the 
house  however,  for  $70  was  voted  to  Nathaniel  Edson  at  a  later 
date  "for  the  use  and  trouble  of  his  house." 


SMITH  GETS  NEWSPAPER 

This  place  came  to  be  known  as  Edson's  Tavern,  tho  not 
generally  advertised  as  such.  Here  the  post  riders  on  their  circuit 
left  mail  matter,  for  there  were  no  post  offices  then.  Among  the 
men  who  "rode  post"  was  one  Fuller.  He  distributed  Spooner's 
Vermont  Journal  published  weekly  at  Windsor.  Edson  subscribed 
for  this  paper  at  halves  with  a  farmer  living  two  miles  out  on  a 
back  road  whose  name  we  will  call  Smith.  The  papers  were  to 
to  be  left  at  Edson's  Tavern.  Some  weeks  passed  and  quite  a 
number  of  them  had  accumulated.  Meeting  Smith  on  the  road 
one  day  Edson  notified  him  of  this  and  suggested  his  calling  to 
get  them.  "Never  mind  about  that,"  said  Smith,  "you  just  keep 
the  whole  lot  till  the  end  of  the  year  and  then  we'll  divide  'em 
equally." 

Awhile  later  Smith  seems  to  have  undergone  a  radical  change 
of  mind.  He  concluded  to  take  the  papers  as  an  individual  sub- 
scriber. Presently  the  post  rider  called  on  him  for  the  subscrip- 
tion money  which  was  duly  paid.  It  happened  that  the  very  next 
issue  of  the  Journal  carried  at  the  head  of  its  columns  the  words 
in  capital  letters  "pay  the  printer."  Smith  considered  that  an  af- 
front to  himself  personally  and  hastened  down  to  the  tavern  to  un- 
bottle  his  indignation.  "What  does  this  mean?"  said  he,  "only 
last  week  I  paid  for  my  paper  and  here  they  are  calling  on  me  to 
pay  again."  Edson  explained  that  that  call  was  not  meant  for 
those  who  had  paid,  but  for  delinquents.  "Not  meant  for  me," 
exclaimed  the  mystified  Smith,  "then  what  d' they  put  't  into  my 
paper  for?" 


84  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ON  THREE  WHEELS 

Edson's  Tavern  had  the  distinction  of  housing  the  first  clock 
brought  into  town.  It  was  an  eight  day  brass  clock  eight  feet  in 
height,  surmounted  with  brass  balls  and  displaying  the  circuit  of 
the  changing  moon.  This  clock  cost  Edson  $75.00  in  Danville  ;  in 
1809  he  sold  it  to  Amaziah  D.  Barber,  he  in  turn  sold  it  to  John 
Clark  in  whose  family  it  remained  till  after  1880,  when  it  came  to 
Charles  S.  Hastings,  its  present  owner. 

Nathaniel  Edson  was  town  clerk  ten  years,  1799-1808  ;  shortly 
after  the  latter  date  he  decided  to  go  out  west,  i.  e.  to  Ohio.  In 
making  his  exit  from  town  the  time  schedule  was  not  strictly  ad- 
hered to.  The  emigrant  wagon  was  loaded  with  household 
goods,  the  horses  had  an  extra  feed,  and  the  time  was  set  for  an 
early  start  in  the  morning.  During  the  night  some  fairy  visitor 
slipped  off  a  wheel  from  the  wagon.  The  three  wheeled  vehicle 
took  a  two  days'  resting  spell  till  the  missing  wheel  turned  up  in 
a  thicket  of  thistles  half  a  mile  yonder.  By  this  time  Edson's 
wheel  was  town  talk,  and  when  it  finally  made  a  start  for  Ohio 
throngs  of  people  gathered  on  the  Plain  to  cheer  the  rolling  along 
of  so  distinguished  a  wagon  wheel. 

STALLED  IN  THE    PULPIT 

The  above  incident  recalls  the  story  of  another  migration  to 
Ohio  of  later  date. 

The  Methodist  meeting  house  of  East  Village  as  originally 
built  in  Waterford  had  a  high  and  spacious  old  fashioned  pulpit.  The 
sexton  one  day  exercised  authority  over  Plin  Page,  a  somewhat 
rougish  boy,  by  ejecting  him  from  the  building.  The  Page  family 
soon  after  migrated  to  Ohio.  Plin  took  occasion  on  the  night  be- 
fore they  started  to  lay  hands  on  the  sexton's  horse  and  bring  him 
to  the  meeting  house.  He  managed  to  get  him  up  into  the  pulpit 
where  he  left  him  tied  securely.  This  balanced  the  account.  The 
next  morning  it  appeared  that  the  sexton's  horse  had  been  stolen. 
There  was  great  excitement.  Not  till  Plin  was  well  on  his  way  to 
Ohio  was  the  horse  discovered  stalled  in  the  high  pulpit.  The  ex- 
citement then  subsided  into  amusement  at  the  original  method 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS  85 

adopted  for  settling  outstanding  accounts  before  leaving  the  town. 
An  East  Village  man  came  forward  and  volunteered  to  meet  all 
damage  done  to  the  meeting  house,  and  the  migration  to  Ohio 
went  serenely  on. 

THE    FOUR  CORNERS 

"Where  the  green  hills  look  around  so  very  pleasant  in  the  sunshine,  with 
houses  nestling  among  them  like  dimples  in  a  smiling  face." 

Joel  Roberts,  Gardner  Wheeler,  Martin  Wheeler.  Eleazar 
Sanger  in  1788  each  purchased  a  hundred-acre  lot  some  two  miles 
northwest  of  the  Plain.  These  lots  formed  a  square  of  four 
hundred  acres.  They  struck  their  axes  in  at  the  center  of  the 
square,  this  being  the  common  corner  of  the  four  lots,  from  which 
their  clearings  radiated.  Hence  the  settlement  came  to  be  known 
as  the  Four  Corner  Clearing,  a  name  which  has  persisted  and 
still  designates  the  neighborhood  known  as  School  District  Number 
Four.  The  first  school  in  that  district  was  kept  in  Gardner 
Wheeler's  new  house,  built  sometime  before  1800.  Near  by  may 
still  be  seen  the  depression  which  marks  the  cellar  of  the  log  hut  he 
put  up  in  1788.  On  the  height  of  land  overlooking  this  place  from 
the  south  is  the  interesting  house  of  Colonial  style  erected  in  1798 
by  William  C.  Arnold.  The  tract  called  Four  Corners,  held  until 
within  recent  years  by  descendants  of  the  original  settlers,  has 
always  attracted  attention  for  its  beautiful  outspread  of  well-cul- 
tivated farms  and  landscape  views.  Much  interesting  and  varied 
scenery  is  included  in  the  drive  past  Mount  Pleasant  to  the  Four 
Corners  and  Goss  Hollow,  returning  down  the  Sleeper's  River  to 
the  Fisheries  Station  and  Fairbanks  Village. 

FINISHING  THE   JOB 

Great  crops  of  hay  used  to  be  raised  on  these  pleasant  fields. 
On  one  occasion  after  the  mowers  had  cut  their  swaths  and  the 
hay  was  dry,  there  came  a  sudden  halt  in  the  work.  This  was 
under  the  old  regime  and  one  important  item  had  been  overlooked. 
Charlotte  Lovell  was  just  then  busy  at  her  spinning  wheel  in  the 
farm  house.   She  was  quickly  called,  mounted  on  a  horse  and  sent 


86  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

with  all  speed  down  to  Clark's  store  on  the  Plain  for  a  quart  of 
rum  without  which  the  waiting  hay  could  not  be  gotten  into  the 
barns. 

A  similar  inability  to  finish  the  job  occurred  on  Dr.  Lord's 
place  at  the  south  end  of  the  Plain  in  1799.  Nat  Brown  of  the 
Four  Corners  with  a  hired  man  was  ploughing  where  the  lawn  of 
Brantview  now  is.  Dr.  Lord  thought  they  were  not  making  very 
great  progress.  They  intimated  that  a  little  rum  would  help  mat- 
ters. He  agreed  to  that  and  while  the  man  was  going  up  street 
to  get  it,  Nat  nailed  some  cleats  on  to  the  wooden  plow  share  to 
make  it  turn  the  turf  easier.  After  that,  one  man  and  a  jug  of 
rum  put  the  plowing  job  thro  in  workmanlike  fashion. 

GOSS    HOLLOW 

"It  is  a  quiet  glen,  as  you  may  see, 
Shut  in  from  all  intrusion/' 

On  the  upper  waters  of  Sleeper's  River,  David  Goss  began  his 
clearings  in  1791.  In  Oct.  1860,  being  then  90  years  old,  he  gave 
these  items  to  the  writer,  on  the  spot  where  he  had  pitched  his 
camp  nearly  seventy  years  before. 

"I  came  up  here  from  Winchester,  N.  H.  When  I  got  to  St. 
Johnsbury,  the  Plain  was  cleared  for  a  street  from  the  Arnold 
House  to  the  Bend,  and  then  down  to  Dr.  Lord's  at  the  lower  end. 
Tree  trunks  and  charred  stumps  were  on  each  side  of  the  street, 
and  woods  beyond.  There  were  these  two  houses  on  the  Plain, 
also  a  hut  at  the  Bend,  and  two  huts  on  the  Adams  meadow  ;  one 
of  them  belonged  to  Jona.  Adams  and  the  other  to  Moses  Hill.  I 
had  the  deed  of  my  land  from  Jonas  Fay  of  Bennington ;  he  had 
one  of  the  proprietor's  rights.  I  cleared  off  a  piece  and  built  a  log 
hut.  Four  of  us  put  the  logs  together  for  my  hut  in  one  day.  I 
closed  up  the  sides  the  next  day.  I  covered  one  corner  with  hem- 
lock bark  and  moved  in.  I  lived  there  all  summer  without  any 
roof  or  floor.  My  salt  pork  I  kept  in  a  barrel  buried  for  safe 
keeping.  The  rabbits  found  where  it  was  and  used  to  dig  down 
and  lick  the  salt  off  from  the  barrel  head.  I  took  the  Freeman's 
oath  down  at  the  Plain,  Sept.  2,  1794.  It  was  Zibe  Tute  who 
stood  on  his  head  on  the  ridge  pole  when  the  meeting  house  was 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS  87 

Taised.      Bill  Trescott  who  killed  the  bear  used  to  sew  leather 
heels  on  to  the  tough  skin  of  his  feet." 

A  LITTLE  ROMANCE  OF  GOSS  HOLLOW 

Jeriah  Hawkins,  a  minute  man  of  the  Revolution,  brought  his 
family  to  St.  Johnsbury,  from  Winchester,  N.  H.,  in  1794.  As  the 
ox  wagon  was  coming  over  hog  back  mountain  seven  miles  south 
of  here,  his  boy  Stephen  fell  from  the  load  and  rolled  down  the 
steep  hill  side.  The  resoluteness  with  which  he  picked  himself  up 
and  regained  his  place  attracted  notice  ;  the  lad  will  make  his  way 
sure  enough,  they  said.  He  rode  into  town  on  the  top  of  the  load, 
and  soon  after  was  busy  with  a  boy's  work  on  the  Hawkins  pitch 
which  was  made  over  in  Goss  Hollow. 

Two  or  three  years  later  Abel  Shorey  came  up  from  Rhode 
Island,  prospecting.  After  some  while  he  negotiated  for  a  tract  of 
land  across  the  Branch  from  the  Hawkins  place.  While  the  papers 
were  being  made  out,  he  said  to  the  boy  who  was  on  hand  watch- 
ing the  proceedings.  "Stephen,  if  you'll  run  over  and  get  Mrs. 
Brown  to  come  and  witness  this  trade,  I'll  give  you  my  oldest 
girl."  Stephen  called  it  a  bargain  in  earnest,  and  promptly  execut- 
ed his  part  of  it  by  bringing  in  the  desired  witness. 

Shorey  returned  to  Rhode  Island  and  in  the  spring  brought 
his  family  up  here  into  the  wilderness.  There  were  two  daughters, 
Nabbie  and  Bethiah  ;  they  were  housed  and  cared  for  at  Mrs. 
Brown's  while  the  log  house  was  being  put  together. 

Stephen,  now  ten  years  old,  and  of  adventurous  bent,  had  a 
mind  to  take  a  view  of  his  promised  possession,  and  lost  no  time 
in  making  his  way  over  to  the  Brown's  in  Four  Corners,  to  see 
what  he  might  see.  Stepping  resolutely  up  to  the  house  he 
caught  sight  thro  the  door  or  window,  of  the  two  girls  at  their 
work  in  the  kitchen.  One  had  gold  ear-rings  ;  "I  hope  she  is  the 
one,"  he  said  to  himself.  It  proved  to  be  according  to  his  wish 
and  they  soon  became  fast  friends,  growing  up  together,  experts 
in  all  farm  doings  and  in  the  sports  of  the  day.  Nabbie  rode  a 
spirited  little  Morgan  mare  ;  other  young  men  who  were  willing 
to  win  her  favor  essayed  to  keep  up  with  her,  but  Stephen  was  the 
only  one  who  could  do  it.    Sometimes  when  they  came  to  a  fence, 


88  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Nabbie  would  wheel  about  to  face  it,  settle  herself  in  the  saddle, 
and  that  was  the  signal  that  he  must  vault  it  neck  and  neck  with 
her.  It  used  to  frighten  me,  he  said,  in  after  years,  to  see  her 
start  off  that  way,  but  she  would  do  it,  and  of  course  I  couldn't  be 
outdone  by  a  girl  on  a  horse. 

In  his  fifteenth  year  Stephen  wrapped  up  his  belongings  in  a 
handkerchief  and  trudged  over  to  Peacham  to  attend  the  Academy. 
In  the  course  of  time  he  became  a  successful  teacher  in  the 
district  schools  of  this  town  and  of  Danville ;  then  came  back  to 
the  old  home  farm,  married  Nabbie  and  became  a  prosperous  man 
of  affairs  with  a  growing  family  of  ten  children. 

Among  other  valuables  Nabbie  came  into  possession  of  some 
fine  old  mahogany,  also  a  silver  mounted  chaise  and  harness 
which  quite  fitted  the  quality  of  her  Morgan  colts.  This  chaise 
was  hired  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks  in  the  early  days  of  his  busi- 
ness for  a  trip  to  Portland.  Tradition  does  not  indicate  whether 
his  arrival  in  Portland  a  day  earlier  than  others  who  started  with 
him,  was  attributable  to  the  superior  style  of  the  chaise,  or  to  the 
Sabbath  day  rest  that  he  gave  it  on  the  way. 

Stephen  Hawkins  was  a  man  of  note  in  his  day.  He  had 
strong  individuality  and  a  forceful  presence.  As  a  youthful 
school  master  he  demanded  the  respect  of  his  pupils  and  he  got 
it.  At  the  Bristol  Bill  trial  he  was  the  one  man  of  the  twelve  on 
the  jury  who  from  the  first  stood  immovably  for  conviction.  After 
the  assault  on  Bliss  N.  Davis,  the  jurors  who  had  stoutly  opposed 
him,  as  strongly  applauded  him.  He  joined  the  militia  as  soon 
as  his  age  permitted,  rose  rapidly  to  the  rank  of  Colonel,  and  in 
due  time  was  Major  General  of  the  Infantry  of  the  State.  His 
discipline  was  rigorous  ;  he  was  not  a  large  man  but  determina- 
tion and  command  were  instantly  recognized  in  his  pose,  his  stride, 
his  firmly  cut  features.  "At  the  June  trainings  his  word  of  com- 
mand could  be  heard  a  mile  away."  When  the  third  regiment  in 
1861  was  under  review  on  the  Fair  Ground  before  Gov.  Erastus 
Fairbanks,  the  lack  of  soldierly  decorum  among  the  raw  recruits 
distressed  his  military  sensibility.  "I  am  ashamed,  Sir,"  he  said, 
"that  suitable  deference  has  not  been  shown  to  you  as  Com- 
mander in  Chief." 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS  89 

During  the  Revolutionary  war,  Jeriah  Hawkins,  the  father  of 
Stephen  was  at  one  time  commissioned  to  carry  important  dis- 
patches to  General  Washington.  He  called  for  the  fleetest  horse 
that  could  be  found,  mounted  her  and  dashed  thro  a  rain  of  the 
enemies'  bullets  ;  delivered  the  papers  and  returned  in  safety.  His 
son-in-law,  John  Ripley,  of  St.  Johnsbury,  on  a  similar  adventure 
in  1814,  was  not  so  successful.  He  was  sent  with  dispatches  to 
Plattsburg,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British  and  was  never  heard 
from  again. 

NEW    BOSTON 


"Even  a  gentleman  from  London  would  almost  think  himself  at  home 
in  Boston." 


About  1799,  Ebenezer  Aldrich  came  to  town  and  settled  on 
what  is  now  known  as  the  New  Boston  road.  At  that  date  this  was 
said  to  be  the  most  densely  populated  tract  in  the  town,  there 
being  nine  log  houses  within  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half. 
Finding  himself  in  the  midst  of  such  a  populous  community  Eben- 
ezer bestowed  on  it  the  name  of  New  Boston.  While  the  citizens 
of  New  Boston  were  undoubtedly  pleased  to  have  arrived  at  such 
distinction,  it  may  not  have  occurred  to  them  that  this  would  remain 
the  permanent  designation;  so  entered  on  town  and  county  maps, 
and  in  the  current  vocabulary  of  the  twentieth  century.  That 
local  pride  continued  Bostonian  as  to  some  article  of  superiority 
whether  culture,  beans  or  highways,  appears  as  recently  as  1872, 
when  "the  best  piece  of  road  in  this  town,  made  so  by  the  men 
who  live  there  and  took  pains  to  have  it  the  best,  was  on  the  New 
Boston  road."  Here  lived  the  Abels  :  Abel  Shorey,  Abel  Pierce, 
Abel  Willey,  on  nearly  contiguous  farms.  The  New  Boston  road 
running  north  from  the  Center  Village  and  its  mate  the  Billowy 
Road  running  south  to  Paddock  Village,  are  spoken  of  as  back 
roads,  being  on  the  east  side  of  the  Passumpsic  River.  The 
pleasant  turns  and  landscapes  of  the  former,  the  curiously  rounded 
slopes  of  the  latter  make  them  both  favorite  roads  for  pleasure 
driving. 


90  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

LITTLE    YORK 
" a  very  fine  place, 


Situated  under  Rabbit  Hill — 

With  a  tavern,  a  store  and  a  clover  mill." 

It  may  have  been  the  metropolitan  name  imposed  on  the 
New  Boston  road  that  inspired  the  small  community  at  Sanger's 
Mills  to  adopt  the  name  of  Little  York ;  a  common  designation  of 
the  Center  Village  as  late  as  1830. 

"Russell  had  been  to  Little  York  for  job  at  Hiram's  mill. 
Then  to  the  Plain  to  get  the  mail  and  down  the  long  Sand  Hill." 

This  name  has  not  survived  on  the  maps  or  in  the  local 
speech  of  today,  and  few  people  now  living  at  the  Center  Village 
ever  heard  that  their  quiet  street  once  carried  so  distinguished  a 
name. 

SANGER'S   MILLS 

About  1792  Eleazar  Sanger  came  over  from  the  Four  Corners 
and  purchased  some  two  hundred  acres,  including  most  of  what  is 
now  the  Center  Village.  Here  he  built  saw  and  grist  mills  ;  San- 
ger's Mills,  and  erected  on  the  east  plateau  overlooking  the  street, 
his  large,  square  hopper-roofed  house,  still  standing  on  its  orig- 
inal foundations.  This,  tho  not  advertised  as  a  tavern,  became  a 
favorite  stopping  place  for  teamsters,  and  for  men  who  brought 
their  wives  in  to  the  village  on  town  meeting  days,  when  great 
suppers  were  served.  The  house  was  large  enough  to  be  rented 
to  five  families  after  Mr.  Sanger's  death  in  1823.  His  son  Ezra, 
one  of  twelve  children  born  in  St.  Johnsbury,  kept  the  first  store 
in  this  village.  Reuben  Spaulding  from  Cavendish  bought  the 
mill  privilege  and  built  new  mills. 

THE    SPAULDING   NEIGHBORHOOD 

Settled  by  Reuben  Spaulding,  1794,  is  on  the  high  ground 
"equi-distant  by  road  from  the  Center  Village,  East  Village  and 
Plain  Village."     His  first  house  was  of  rough  logs  with  mother 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS  91 

earth  for  a  floor.  His  next  house  was  also  built  of  logs,  but 
floored  and  cased  with  boards  brought  on  the  backs  of  men  from 
Arnold's  Mills,  making  their  way  by  blazed  trees  thro  the  forest. 
In  the  course  of  years  quite  a  population  centered  here.  When 
Judge  Edwards  of  Newport  taught  school  in  this  district  he  had 
over  forty  pupils.  In  1900  there  was  only  one  school  child  in  the 
district  and  the  town  paid  a  dollar  a  day  for  transportation  of  this 
one  to  the  Summerville  School. 

CHESTERFIELD 

The  northeast  district  of  the  town  took  its  name  from 
families  who  had  migrated  to  this  place  from  Chesterfield,  N.  H. 
James  Harris  was  one  of  them  ;  he  in  later  years  owned  Harris 
Hill  and  most  of  the  land  on  which  Summerville  now  stands. 
Nineveh  was  on  the  hill  East  from  Chesterfield. 

COLEGATE  HILL 

In  1788,  Simeon  Cole,  one  of  the  grantees  of  the  town,  had  a 
conspicuous  gate  swinging  on  the  south  line  of  his  tract  by  the 
highway.  The  place  was  at  the  foot  of  the  steep  ledge  a  little 
south  of  the  railroad  crossing  and  the  bridge  on  the  road  from  the 
Plain  to  the  Center  Village.  From  the  first,  this  bluff  was  known 
as  Colegate  Hill,  and  it  still  stands  so  written  on  the  road  survey 
of  1873,  and  so  called  in  local  reference  today. 

COLE    CORNER 

The  northwest  corner  of  the  town,  originally  Hawkins'  Cor- 
ner, is  now  called  Cole  Corner.  It  lies  beyond  Rabbit  Plain. 
Which  Cole  gave  the  name  is  not  known.  It  may  have  been 
from  this  corner  that  "a  hunter  named  Cole  from  St.  Johnsbury" 
went  over  into  the  Walden  woods  and  discovered  Cole  Pond. 

THE    EAST   VILLAGE 

"The  never-failing  brook,  the  busy  mill, 
The  decent  church  that  topped  the  neighboring  hill." 

About  the  year  1793,  Royal  Gage  bought  300  acres  of  Capt. 
Bellows,  of  Bellows  Falls,  which  land  included  the   Works'  farm 


92  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

on  the  Waterford  line  and  a  good  part  of  the  ground  now  held  in 
the  East  Village.     Gage  had  two  wives  and  21  children. 

Capt.  John  Stiles  of  Keene,  in  1797  bought  at  the  outlet  of 
Stiles  Pond,  where  he  put  up  a  saw  mill.  Capt.  Stiles  was  an  ex- 
perienced builder.  He  had  constructed  the  first  dam  that  was 
thrown  across  the  Connecticut  river  at  Bellows  Falls.  Tradition 
has  it  that  he  built  the  first  bridge  across  the  Passumpsic  at 
Arnold's  Falls;  this  is  doubtful,  unless  he  came  up  here  for  that 
job  six  years  prior  to  his  real  estate  purchase.  He  was  however 
contractor  and  builder  of  the  Old  Meeeting  House  on  the  Hill ;  a 
copy  of  the  contract  will  be  found  on  another  page. 

Cheney's  mills  were  built  on  the  Moose  River  privilege  at  the 
East  Village.  Fowler  was  the  first  miller  ;  he  had  a  log  hut  near 
by,  furnished  with  logs  on  the  ground  tfor  seats.  ,  In  later  years 
successive  millers  at  the  grist  mill  were  Chase,  Gilchrist,  Harvey, 
Nelson,  Potter,  Bedell,  Gates.  Gilchrist  set  up  an  oatmeal  plant ; 
the  ruins  of  his  oat  kiln  could  be  seen  as  late  as  1828. 

NOTICE 

"Agreeable  to  request  of  seven  or  more  Freeholders,  Inhabitants  of  the 
Village  hereafter  named— we,  the  undersigned,  Selectmen  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
have  thought  proper  to  lay  out  and  establish  a  Village  in  said  St.  Johnsbury, 
by  the  name  of  St.  Johnsbury  East  Village,  in  said  town ;  bounded  and  de- 
scribed as  follows,  to  wit :  including  all  of  Right  71;  parts  of  Right  C.  36; 
part  of  Right  B.  27;  and  Right  A.  Nichol's  Pitch." 

Given  under  our  hand  this  24th  day  of  Jan.  A.  D.  1837. 

Abel  Butler,  Jonas  Flint,  Selectmen. 

During  the  twenties  and  thirties  the  East  Village  was  a  brisk 
and  thriving  section  of  the  town.  Erastus  Fairbanks  was  in  busi- 
ness here  in  1818  and  1819,  and  there  was  considerable  talk  of 
removing  the  Fairbanks  iron  works  to  this  Moose  River  water 
power,  which  was  much  heavier  than  in  recent  years.  Moses 
Kittredge  made  large  profits  in  his  East  Village  store,  1820-1829, 
before  his  removal  to  the  Plain,  at  which  time  he  was  accounted 
the  richest  man  in  town.  In  1830  there  were  at  the  East  Village 
two  taverns,  three  stores,  two  blacksmiths,  two  shoemakers,  a 
harness  shop,  a  tin  shop,  a  grist  mill,  fulling  mill,  tannery,  card- 


LOCALITIES  AND  EVENTS  93 

ing  mill,  one  or  two  doctors  and  a  lawyer,  all  doing  a  brisk 
business ;  more  in  amount  than  was  done  at  that  time  on  the 
Plain. 

APPLES 

A  firm  that  we  will  call  Jarvis  and  Jay  were  dealers  in  dry 
goods  in  this  village.  Jay  was  young  and  fond  of  adventure. 
One  night  he  led  a  party  in  a  raid  upon  a  farmer's  orchard. 
Hearing  the  owner  coming  they  took  to  their  heels.  Suddenly 
Jay  exclaimed,  "Say  boys,  Mrs.  Jarvis'  name  is  on  that  pillow 
case."  He  darted  back  and  cut  off  the  name,  leaving  the  case 
half  full  of  apples.  The  next  day  who  should  come  into  the  store 
but  the  farmer,  who  said,  "Mr.  Jay,  I  found  a  glove  with  your 
name  on  it."  "You  did?"  said  Jay.  "Well  now,  I'll  tell  you  a 
secret.  I  am  considered  the  dressiest  young  fellow  in  town ; 
when  a  box  of  gloves  comes,  I  pick  out  the  poor  ones  and  write 
my  name  in  them  ;  they  are  quickly  sold.  I  don't  see  that  that 
glove  being  in  your  orchard  signifies  anything  in  particular." 


VIII 


AMONGST  THE  RECORD  BOOKS 


1800— CALEDONIA  COUNTY — CAOILL-DAOIN— TOWN  OFFICERS  1800 
—TEN  HOUSES— VITAL  STATISTICS  1788-1800 — EXTRACTS  FROM 
EARLY  TOWN  RECORDS— GRAIN  ORDERS— THE  OLD  BURIAL 
GROUND — SIXTY  YEARS  AFTER — QUIT  CLAIM  TO  VILLAGE 
TRUSTEES 


EIGHTEEN    HUNDRED 

Arriving  at  the  year  1800,  St.  Johnsbury  had  a  population  of 
663,  an  increase  of  520  only  during  the  census  decade.  There 
were  ten  "frame  houses."  Allowing  an  average  of  six  persons 
to  each  family  occupying  a  frame  house,  there  would  be  about 
600  who  were  quartered  in  log  houses  or  temporary  shacks. 
These  structures  were  not  entered  as  assessed  for  taxation.  The 
grand  list  was  $8,628.25,  figured  from  the  table  herewith  given : 

Polls,  124  Assessment  $2,480.00 

Acres  of  improved  land,  1059                 "  1,853.25 

Number  of  houses                 10                M  61.00 

Other  property  to  value  of                      "  5,754.00 


$10,148.25 
Deduct  76  Militia  Polls,  assessed  at  1,520.00 

"  Horses  of  Cavalry,  none 

Balance,  or  true  list  for  State  Taxes  $8,628.25 


AMONGST  THE  RECORD  BOOKS  95 

The  comparative  increase  of  property  in  the  town  may  be 
traced  on  the  following  table  of  grand  lists  quoted  from  the  date 
of  organization  to  the  census  year  of  1800. 


1790 

$  408.10 

1794 

$1200.00 

1798 

$7286.50 

1791 

590.00 

1795 

1500.00 

1799 

7261.75 

1792 

863.15 

1796 

1415.10 

1800 

8628.25 

1793 

1033.15 

1797 

6295.25 

In  the  year  1796  St.  Johnsbury  was  set  off  from  old  Orange 
County,  and  with  eighteen  other  towns  was  incorporated  into  the 
new  County  of  Caledonia.  The  next  year  we  note  an  increase  of 
nearly  $5000,  over  preceding  years  in  the  grand  list. 

CALEDONIA  COUNTY 

The  first  General  Assembly  of  Vermont  divided  the  State 
into  two  counties  :  Bennington  on  the  West  and  Cumberland  on 
the  East  of  the  Green  Mountains.  In  1781  the  North  East  part  of 
the  State  was  set  off  as  Orange  County  with  Newbury  as  shire 
town.  Nov.  5,  1792,  all  north  of  the  present  Orange  County  was 
incorporated  as  Caledonia,  the  old  Roman  name  of  Scotland, 
the  birthplace  of  many  of  the  settlers.  Danville  was  made  the 
shire  from  Nov.  8,  1796.  In  1798  Orleans  and  Essex  were  taken 
off  from  Caledonia  and  in  1811  four  towns,  later  two  more,  were 
annexed  from  Caledonia  to  Washington,  leaving  the  seventeen 
towns  that  now  constitute  Caledonia  County,  of  which  St.  Johns- 
bury  became  the  shire  in  1856. 

The  inhabitants  of  Britain  at  the  time  of  the  Roman  invasion 
called  the  Picts  and  Scots  Caoill-daoin,  people  of  the  forest ; 
hence  in  the  course  of  time  the  name  now  familiar  and  dear  to 
our  ears — Caledonia. 

SWEET     CALEDON 

"Sweet  Caledon,  on  thy  high  verdant  hills 
Teeming  with  dark  forests  and  tumbling  rills, 
In  thy  cool  meadows  and  thy  neighboring  dales, 
With  dingles  aDd  dells  and  beautiful  vales, 
Happiness  and  Peace  their  legends  re-tell, 
And  Virtue  and  Love  together  here  dwell." 


96  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

TOWN   OFFICERS   YEAR    1800 

"And  for  apointing  &  nameing  &  styleing  of  all  Officers  both  superior 
and  inferior  needful  for  ye  Plantation,  and  their  severall  Duties,  powers  and 
Lymytts." 

Moderator \  S.  B.  Goodhue  ;  Clerk,  Nath'l.  Edson  ;  Treas.,  Joel  Roberts; 
Selectmen,  Samuel  Barker,  Simeon  Cobb,  Joel  Hastings,  also  Listers  ;  Con- 
stable  and  Collector  Presbury  West  for  which  he  is  paid  $10.00  ;  Highway  Sur- 
veyors and  Fence  Viewers,  Samuel  Barker,  Hopkin  Rowland,  Israel  Prince, 
Ariel  Aldrich,  Asa  Lee,  David  Goss,  Ezekiel  Colby,  Peneas  Gardner,  Thomas 
Pierce,  Eleazar  Sangar,  Jeriah  Whipple,  Moses  Melvin  ;  Grand  Juror,  John 
Ladd  ;  Pound  Keeper,  Samuel  Packard ;  Scaler  of  Leather,  John  Ladd  ;  Of 
Weights  and  Measures,  Thomas  Pierce  ;  Tythingman,  John  Higgins;  Hey- 
ward,  Joseph  Lord ;  Hog  Constables,  Reuben  Alexander,  Thomas  Peck, 
Israel  Prince,  Samuel  Wheeler,  Benj.  Minot,  James  Ayer,  John  Gardner; 
Auditors,  Joseph  Lord,  Israel  Prince,  Nathaniel  Edson. 

PUBLIC    HOGS 

By  vote  at  the  March  Meeting  of  1800,  hogs  were  forbidden 
to  run  at  large  any  more.  But  the  important  office  of  Hog  Con- 
stable refused  to  be  eliminated.  Seven  men  were  elevated  to 
this  responsibility  this  very  year.  Ostensibly  their  functions  re- 
lated to  curbing  any  irregularities  that  might  arise  among  the 
animals.  The  chief  significance  of  the  appointment,  however,  lay 
in  its  being  a  distinction  conferred  on  newly  married  men ;  "all 
married  during  the  past  year"  is  the  entry  found  on  the  earlier 
town  records  ;  this  establishes  to  us  and  to  all  future  generations 
the  fact  of  their  eligibility,  and  affirms  the  orderly  procedure  of 
the  old  time  town  meetings. 

THE   TEN    HOUSES 

At  the  date  of  1800,  it  seems  there  were  ten  houses  in  the 
town;  these  were  assessed  at  2%  in  the  grand  list,  an  average 
valuation  of  $305.00  each.  They  were  all  of  one  type,  low  posted, 
made  of  rough  boards,  roofed  with  long  split  shingles.  Under 
the  wooden  latch  on  the  outside  door  hangs  a  buckskin  thong ; 
pull  it  and  the  latch  will  lift  giving  entrance  to  the  reception  room, 
which  is  also  dining  room,  work  room  and   kitchen   combined. 


AMONGST  THE  RECORD  BOOKS  97 

The  tints  nature  laid  on  the  wood  work  are  not  disguised  with  any- 
artificial  mixture  of  paints.  The  conspicuous  feature  is  the  deep- 
bellied  fire-place  with  blazing  logs,  over  which  swings  the  crane 
with  its  pendant  pots  and  kettles.  Above  hangs  the  fowling  piece 
and  powder  horns,  lower  down  the  bellows  and  boot  jacks;  strings 
of  dried  pumpkin  or  apple  dangling  over  head.  In  one  corner  is 
the  spinning  wheel,  possibly  a  loom.  Furniture  is  mostly  hand- 
made on  the  spot,  jointed  with  wooden  pegs,  for  nails  are  scarce 
and  costly.  The  fire-light  gives  evening  cheer,  the  tallow  dip  is 
dripping  its  superfluous  tallow  over  the  iron  candlestick  on  the 
large  family  table.  Fire  must  be  ever  burning  on  the  hearth, 
otherwise  you  must  run  to  the  nearest  neighbor  for  a  dish  full  of 
live  coals,  or  strike  a  spark  out  of  the  flint  in  the  tinder-box.  You 
will  have  to  live  33  years  longer  before  such  a  thing  as  a  match  is 
heard  of,  and  it  will  be  15  years  before  you  see  in  this  township  a 
family  wagon  or  a  chaise ;  even  the  traverse  sled  is  24  years  dis- 
tant. 

There  is  hardly  any  money  in  these  houses,  still  less  in  the 
shacks  round  about.  It  was  only  seven  years  ago  that  United 
States  coin  began  to  be  minted  ;  perhaps  none  of  it  has  reached 
here  yet ;  reckonings  are  in  shillings  and  pence ;  the  standard  of 
value  is  a  bushel  of  wheat,  varying  from  four  to  six  shillings  ac- 
cording to  current  supply,  or  "the  increased  cost  of  living."  In 
September  of  this  year  the  town  voted  $100  for  bridge  repairs 
payable  wholly  in  wheat,  rye  or  corn. 

"We  didn't  mind  the  cold  of  the  winters.  If  you  had  a  good  ax  for  out 
doors  and  a  roustin'  good  fire  a-burnin'  in  the  fire  place,  you'd  keep  warm 
and  cheerful.  We'd  fell  the  trees  in  the  near  woods,  trim  off  the  branches, 
hitch  on  our  oxen  and  draw  'em  up  to  the  door  where  we'd  cut  'em 
up.  We  hadn't  any  matches;  we'd  get  punk  in  a  rotten  maple 
tree,  dry  it  and  use  it  to  strike  our  flint  sparks  into.  Some  of  the 
old  men  carried  flint  and  steel  in  their  pockets  to  light  their  pipes.  In  sum. 
mer  if  there  was  a  hollow  elm  handy  we'd  start  a  fire  in  that ;  it  would  burn 
maybe  for  weeks  and  we'd  bring  coals  from  it  to  kindle  our  fires. 

"The  cattle  and  hogs  ran  loose  and  the  cows  had  bells  on  ;  when  it  be- 
gan to  get  cold  in  the  fall  they'd  come  up  every  night  of  their  own  accord 
and  we'd  yard  'em.  We  had  wheat  straw,  corn  stocks  and  hay  to  winter 'em 
on.  We  stacked  our  wheat  outside ;  there  was  a  trough  dug  out  of  a  big  log 
and  into   that  we  used  to  empty  the  skim  milk  and  swill  for  the  hogs." 


98  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

VITAL   RECORDS  1788-1800 

The  early  vital  statistics  of  the  town  are  far  from  complete  ; 
those  in  the  first  record  book  relate  to  marriages  and  births 
only  ;  no  deaths  are  recorded.  The  entries  appear  to  have  been 
made  in  rambling  fashion  on  any  spare  space  that  offered  itself  for 
the  exercise  of  clerical  penmanship.  They  are  now  brought  out 
from  their  obscurity  and  set  in  print  that  we  may  know  who  were 
engaged  in  making  family  history  in  the  settlement  prior  to  the 
turn  of  the  century. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Josias  Lyndon  Arnold  and  Susan    Perkins  were  published  Feb.    1795. 

Ephraim  Mullen  and  Elizabeth  Furggeson,  ctf.  dated  Sept.  30,  1795. 

John  Stevens  and  Ella  Ide  were  publ.  legally  in  this  town,  Oct.  5, 1795. 

Samuel  Ladd  of  Haverhill  and  Cynthia  Hastings,  widow  of  Jona. 
Arnold  published  Dec.  1795.     (See  page  61—  a  switch.) 

Thos.  Ayerand  Sylvia  Wright  were  publ.  Oct.  22, 1796,  legally  in  this  town. 

Caleb  Freeman  and  Ruth  Stores  of  Lebanon  legally  published  Nov.  1796. 

Wm.  C.  Arnold  and  Lucy  Gardiner  were  publ.  legally,  13,  Nov'br  1796. 

Chiron  Penniman  and  Olive  Whipple  published  legally,  Nov.  30,   1796. 

Daniel  Hawesand  Rhoda  Sanger  published  for  marriage,  March  25,  1797. 

Alphene  Goss  and  Polly  Ayer  legally  publ.  in  this  town,  June  12,  1797. 

Asquire  Aldrich  and  Abigail  Ide  legally  publ.  in  this  town  June  12,  1797. 

Ariel  Aldrich  and  Kezia  Burke  lawfully  publ.  in  this  town   Feb.  3,  1798. 

Joseph  Gilson  and  Nancy  Healey  lawfully  publ.  in  this  townMch.  14, 1798. 

John  Brown  and  Sally  Ide  were  March  15,  1798,  legally  published  for 
marriage  in  this  town. 

MARRIAGES 

"This  was  ye  1st  marriage  ;  wh  ace.  to  ye  laudable  custome  was  thot 
most  requisite  to  be  performed  by  ye  Magestrate,  as  being  a  civill  thing  vpon 
wh  questions  aboute  Inheritances  doe  depende."     Gov.  Bradford,  1621. 

Eneas  Harvey  and  Rhoda  Hamlet  were  married  the  17th  day  of  Jan.  A 
D.  1793,  by  Jonathan  Arnold  Esq.  in  presence  of  several  witnesses,  they 
having  produced  ctf.  of  legal  publication. 

Thomas  Ayer  and  Sylvia  Wright  were  married  23d  Oct.  A.  D.  1796  by 
Joseph  Lord  Esq.  in  presence  of  several  witnesses,  they  having  been  legally 
published. 

Wm.  C.  Arnold  and  Lucy  Gardiner  were  married  on  13,  Nov.  1796,  by 
Joseph  Lord,  Esq.,  in  presence  of  several  witnesses. 


SOURCE  BOOKS  OF  HISTORY  99 

Be  it  remembered  that  on  8th  day  April,  A.  D.  1797,  at  St.  Johnsbury, 
County  Caledonia,  State  of  Vt.  Daniel  Hawes  and  Rhoda  Sanger,  both  of 
St.  Johnsbury,  were  duly  joined  in  marriage  by  me. 

Nath.  Edson,  Justice  of  Peace. 
Be  it  remembered,  that  at  St.  Johnsbury,   Co.  aforesaid,   this  19th  day 
of  March    year  of  our  Lord  1798,  John  Brown  of  Lyndon  in  said  County  and 
Sally  Ide  of  St.  Johnsbury  aforesaid  were  duly  joined    in  marriage    by  me. 

Nath.  Edson,    Justice  of  Peace. 

Ditto,  Joseph  Gilson  and  Nancy  Healey  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Men,  9,   1798. 
Ditto,  Thomas  Peck  and  Sally  Pierce  of  St.  Johnsbury,  March  17,  1799. 
Ditto,  Timothy  Edson  and  Betsy  Wetherby,  Septr.  5,  1799. 
Ditto,  Joseph  Felch  and  Abigail  Manchester  at  Waterford  1799. 

BIRTHS 

Polly  McGaffey,  daughter  John  and  — McGaffey  was  b.  Aug.  28,  1788. 

Polly  Doolittle,  daughter  of  David  Doolittle  was  born  Dec.  14,  1789. 

Freelove  C.  Arnold,  d.  of  Jona.  and  Alice  C.  Arnold,  was  b.  Dec.  7,  1789. 

William  McGaffey,  son  of  John  McGaffey  was  born  Nov.  25,  1790. 

Lucy  Doolittle,  daughter  of  David  Doolittle  was  born  June  22,  1791. 

Barnabas  Barker,  son  of  Barnabas  and  Ruth  Barker,  b.  Sept.  28,  1791. 

Sarah  Brown  Barker,  daughter  of  same  was  born  13th  February  1793. 

Lemuel  Hastings  Arnold,  son  Jona.  and  Cynthia  Arnold  b.  Jan.  29,  1792. 

Anna  Houghton,  d.  of  Alpheus  and  Izabel  Houghton  b.  Sept.  28,  1792. 

Philena  Doolittle,  daughter  of  David  Doolittle  was  born  Nov.  18,  1792. 

John  McGaffey,  son  of  John  McGaffey  was  born  March  13,  1793. 

Celia  Goss,  daughter  of  David  Goss  and  Cynthia  Goss,  b.  Mch.  27,  1793. 

Zebrina  Trescott,  son  of  Jerial  and  Lydia  Trescott  wasb.  Mch.  28,  1793. 

Aurelia  Trescott,  daughter  of  same  was  born  Aug.  11,  1795. 

Lydia  Wheaton,  dau.  of  Caleb  and  Patience  Wheaton,  b.  Dec.  6,   1793. 

Hannah  Rowland,  d.  Hopkin  and  Patience  Rowland,  b.  April  10,  1794. 

Cynthia  Brown  Haistings,  dau.  of  Joel  Haistings,  born  Mch.  12,  1796. 

Samuel  Haistings,  b.  Oct.  30,  1797,  Elezebeth  Haistings,  b.Oct.  30,  1799. 

Aretas  Pierce,  son  of  Aretas  and  Rebekah  Pierce,  born  March  27,  1799. 

Betsy  Pierce,  daughter  of  same,  born  July  1,  1796. 

Eliza,  daughter  of  Gardner  and  Lettice  Whelor,  born  25th  July,  1791. 

F.  M.  Whelor,  b.  Aug.  3,  1794.     Gardner  Whelor,  Jr.  b.  Jan.  18,  1801. 

Wm.  Lord  b.  Apr.  14,  1790.  Peter  C.  Lord,  b.  June  4,  1793.  Sophia  Lord 
b.  Apr.  2,  1795.  The  above  children  of  Jos.  and  Lucy  Lord  were  b.  at 
St.  Johnsbury. 

Walter  Ayer,  son  of  Sam'l    and  Nancy  Ayer  was  born  Jan.  28,  1795. 

Sally  Ayer,  daughter  of  same,  was  born  on  Jan.  9,  1796. 

Wm.  Aug.  Dean,  son  of  Abiather  and  Freelove  Dean  was  born  in  Win- 
chester, N.  H.  (and  should  have  been  recorded  there)  Mch.  25th,  1793. 

Wm.  J.  Sumner,  son  of  Wm.  and  Patience  Sumner  was  b.  Mch.  13,  1797. 


100  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Lettice  Barker,  dau.  of  John  and  Hannah  Barker,  b.  Sept.  14,  1795. 
Ruth  Barker,  dau.  of  same,  b.  Sept.  28,  1797.  Abiathar  Dean,  T.  Clk. 
Ester  Doolittle,  dau.  of  David  Doolittle  was  b.  Oct.  5,  1794. 
Sam'l.  Humphrey,  son  Ephraim  and  Marg.  Humphrey  b.  Dec.  19,  1794. 
Phanuel  Bishop,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Martha  Bishop  b.  Jan.  24,  1795. 
Elizabeth  Bishop,  d.  same  was  born  July  8,  1796,  recorded  11th  May  1797 
John  Barker,  son  of  Barnabas  and  Ruth  Barker  was  born  Jan.  30,  1795. 
Sussanah  Thurber,  d.  of  James  and  Rachel  Thurber,  born  May  6,  1795. 
Ephraim  Wheton,  son  of  James  and  Dorothy  Wheton,  b.  Oct.  20,  1795. 
Ariel  Gilbert,  son  of  Obed  and  Ann  Gilbert  was  born  Feb.  14,  1796. 
Susan  Perkins  Arnold,  d.  of  J.  L.  Arnold  Esq.,  and  Susan  P.  Arnold,  b 

29th  May  1796. 
Elenor  Doolittle,  daughter  of  David  Doolittle  was  born  April  17,  1796. 
Louisa  Gardner,  dau.  of  Perez  and  Polly  Gardner  was  b.  May  19,  1797. 
John  Hawes,  son  of  Daniel  and  Rhoda  Sangar  Hawes,  b.  Aug.  13,  1797. 
Jonathan  Ayer,  son  of  Sam'l    and  Nancy  Ayer  was  born  Aug.  20,  1797. 
James  Gilbert,  son  of  Obed  and  Ann  Gilbert  was  born  Feb.  28  1798. 
Zebnon  Wheton,  son  of  Caleb  Wheton  was  born  July  9,  1798. 
Lucy  Gardner  Arnold,  d.  of  Wm.  C.  and  Lucy  G.  Arnold  b.  Oct.  11,  1798. 
Frindey  Dean,  son  of  Abiathar  and  FreeloveDean  was  b.  Aug.  22,  1798. 
Sally  Wheton,  dau.  of  James  and  Dorothy  Wheton  was  b.  Aug.  23,  1798. 
Hannah  Hawes,  dau.  of  Daniel  and  Rhoda  Hawes  was  b.  Sept.  5,  1799. 
Phebe  Edson,  dau.  Nathaniel  and  Phebe  Edson  was  born  May  15,  1800. 
Nathaniel Edson  Hawes,  son  of  Dan'l  and  Rhoda  Hawes,  b.  Nov.  10, 1800. 

EARLY  TOWN  RECORDS 

"Local  self-government  as  presented  in  the  New  England  Town  Meeting 
seems  not  to  have  been  patterned  after  any  known  model.  Nothing  like  it 
existed  in  England  or  elsewhere."        The  Puritan  Republic. 

The  town  was  organized  in  1790;  proceedings  of  that  first 
town  meeting  are  given  on  page  47.  Jonathan  Arnold  was  town 
clerk  till  his  death  three  years  later.  There  was  no  record  book 
however  and  so  it  happens,  to  our  regret,  that  nothing  is  pre- 
served in  his  hand  writing,  except  some  early  land  transfers.  The 
minutes  which  he  had  made  as  town  clerk  were  recorded  by  his 
son  and  successor  Josias  L.  Arnold,  in  volume  1  of  the  Town 
Records.  A  few  extracts  from  these  records  are  here  given,  not 
as  notably  important,  not  as  in  older  towns  because  of  their 
quaintness,  but  as  illustrations  of  what  was  coming  up  for 
transaction  during  the  first  twenty  years. 


SOURCE  BOOKS  OF  HISTORY  101 

1791,  Mch.  21  Voted,  that  a  tax  of  3  pence  on  the  pound  be  laid  and 
assessed  on  the  polls  and  ratable  estates  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town  to 
defray  the  expense  of  procuring  Record  Books  and  Paper  for  the  use  of  the 
Town  ;  and  also  a  set  of  sealed  Weights  and  Measures. 

1791,  Mch.  21.  Voted,  to  secure  by  purchase  or  gift  2  Acres  of  land  on 
Right  No.  27,  on  the  Hill,  where  it  is  chopped,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a 
suitable  building  for  the  use  of  the  Town  ;  to  pay  not  over  $6  per  acre  for 
the  same. 

1791,  Sept.  1.  Voted,  that  the  Inhabitants  of  the  South  District  or 
Parish  have  liberty  to  build  a  Pound  within  the  said  Parish,  also  that  a  Sign 
Post  and  Stocks  be  erected  near  Mr.  Cole's  new  house. 

1793,  Mch.  4.  Voted,  that  the  Selectmen  and  Assessors  shall  be  paid  for 
their  services  at  the  rate  of  4  shillings  per  day,  in  wheat  at  five  shillings  per 
bushel;  and  that  ^"5— 2s— 4d  be  raised  to  pay  for  said  services  last  year. 

1793,  Mch.  4.  Voted,  that  a  Bounty  of  $10  be  paid  to  any  Inhabitant  of 
this  Township,  who  shall  take  track  of  a  Wolf  in  the  town  and  kill  the  same 
in  any  part  of  the  State. 

1794,  March.  On  the  question  being  put,  will  the  Town  raise  money  by 
a  tax  to  pay  for  preaching  the  Gospel,  determined  in  the  negative. 

1795,  Mch.  Voted,  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  draught  a  paper 
and  obtain  subscriptions  to  pay  for  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  J.  L.  Arnold, 
Jos.  Lord,  Stephen  Dexter,  Jno.  Ladd,  Jona.  Adams  were  chosen  for  that 
end. 

1795,  Mch.  Voted,  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  procure  powder 
and  lead,  if  necessary,  and  J.  L.  Arnold,  Jos.  Lord,  Stephen  Dexter  were 
made  such  committee. 

1795,  Mch.  Voted,  that  the  Town  be  districted  for  Schools,  and  the 
vSelectmen  were  appointed  Committee  for  that  purpose. 

1795,  Mch.  Voted  that  a  tax  of  £3— 10s— Od  be  assessed  in  the  usual 
manner  payable  in  wheat  at  5  shillings  pr.  bushel,  to  be  delivered  at 
Arnold's  Mills  for  paying  the  selectmen  and  incidental  charges. 

1795.  At  the  Freeman's  Meeting  held  at  Nathaniel  Edson's  house,  Sept. 
1795,  Josias  L.  Arnold  Esq.  was  chosen  to  represent  the  Town  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

Thomas  Chittenden  for  Governor  had  30  votes. 
Isaac  Tichenor  for  Governor  had  1  vote. 

1796,  March.  Voted,  that  Surveighors  of  Highways  shall  see  that 
Canada  thistles  are  cut  in  the  season  directed  or  complain. 

1796,  Mch.  Mr.  Ralph  Murray  exhibited  an  account  against  the  Town 
for  the  loss  of  400  Salts  by  breaking  the  Bridge  over  the  South  Branch  on  the 
main  road  ;  and  Nath'l.  Edson  a  similar  account  for  loss  by  the  same  bridge, 
which  accounts  were  not  all  owed. 

1796,  Sept.  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Johnsbury  legally  held 
at  Nathaniel  Edson's  barn,  on  the  question  being  put,  will  the  Town  build 
a  good  and  sufficient  framed  Bridge  over  the  hollow  near  Ralph  Murray's, 
(Music  Hall)  on  Arnold's  Plain,  determined  in  the  affirmative. 


102  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

1797,  Mch.  Voted,  that  the  Selectmen  shall  take  invoice  of  ye  rateable 
properties  by  going  to  their  several  dwellings. 

1797,  Mch.  Voted,  that  Henry  Hoffman  have  the  Improvement  of  the 
Burial  Yard  in  the  South  Parish,  (Plain,)  provided  he  clear  the  same,  and 
does  not  interfere  with  the  use  heretofore  made  thereof,  until  such  time  as 
said  town  shall  put  the  land  to  some  other  use. 

1793,  March.  Voted,  that  Mose  Tute  be  released  from  his  office  as 
Tythingman  at  his  own  request,  by  a  clear  vote. 

1798,  June.  Voted,  to  dispense  with  such  part  of  the  fine  imposed  on 
John  K —  for  theft,  as  belongs  to  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury. 

1793.  Motioned  and  seconded,  will  the  Town  agree  to  hold  town  meet- 
ings at  Esquire  Edson's  in  the  future;  determined  in  the  affirmative. 

Voted,  to  appoint  Daniel  Pierce  Jr.  and  Reuben  Alexander  a  committee 
to  enquire  of  said  Edson  for  the  liberty  and  use  of  his  house  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid. 

Said  Committee  reported  that  the  said  Nath'l.  Edson  gives  his  consent 
that  the  town  shall  hold  a  meeting  at  his  house  on  March  next,  but  not 
thereafter. 

1799,  Mch.  Voted,  that  Nathaniel  Edson  receive  from  the  town  $70  in 
grain  for  the  use  and  trouble  of  his  house. 

1800,  March.  On  motion,  voted  that  hogs  shall  not  run  at  large  the  in- 
suing  year.  Also  voted  that  rams  shall  not  run  at  large  from  the  20th  of 
August  to  the  20th  of  November  next. 

1800,  Sept.  2.  Meeting  opened  agreeable  to  warrant  and  proseded  to 
bisness.  On  motion,  voted  to  raise  $100  to  repair  bridge  near  Sanger's  Mills, 
and  to  remove  flood  wood  that  is  lodged  against  the  bridge  near  Arnold's 
Mills,  payable  in  wheat  or  rye  or  Indian  corn  by  the  first  day  of  February 
next. 

1801,  This  is  to  notify  and  warn  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  St. 
Johnsbury  to  meet  at  the  dwelling  house  of  Lieut.  Thos.  Pierce  on  the  25th 
day  of  May  next,  to  act  on  the  following  articles,  viz. — to  see  if  the  Town 
will  associate  together  as  the  Law  provides  for  the  purpose  of  hiring  preach- 
ing— to  see  if  the  town  will  raise  money  to  defray  the  same — to  see  if  the 
town  will  appoint  a  place  or  places  of  meeting — to  see  if  the  town  will 
appoint  a  committee  or  officers  necessary — to  see  if  the  town  will  associate 
together  to  build  a  meeting  house  for  the  use  of  said  society — to  see  if  the 
town  will  determine  the  form  and  size  of  said  house  and  raise  money  or  grain 
to  defray  the  expense  of  said  building. 

Note.  At  the  date  appointed  it  wasvoted  to  "associate  for  preaching;" 
to  raise  $100  payable  in  grain  by  Feb.  next;  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  provide  a  preacher,  but  no  further  result  was  ever  arrived  at. 

1802,  Sept.  Voted,  to  allow  the  account  of  the  Committee  for  fencing  the 
Burying  Ground  amounting  to  $27.63,  and  to  pay  the  same  out  of  the  treas- 
ury. 


SOURCE  BOOKS  OF  HISTORY  103 

1804,  April.  On  motion,  will  the  Town  open  a  Road  from  Arnold's 
Mills  threw  Squire  Lord's  meadow,  (R.  R.  St.)  which  was  negatived. 
Again,  the  motion  being  put,  will  the  Town  open  said  Road  Provided  it 
shall  be  made  at  private  expense — carried  in  the  fermative. 

1804,  August  20.  Take  notice.  The  freemen  of  the  Town  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  are  hereby  warned  to  meet  at  the  Meeting  House  in  said  Town  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  September  next,  at  11  o'clk  in  forenoon  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  a  person  to  represent  this  State  in  the  Congress  of  the  U.  S. 

Pres.  West,   Constable. 

Meeting  opened  at  time  and  place  and  votes  being  taken  were  as  follows: 
William  Chamberlin,  46  votes  Paul  Brigham,  1  vote 

James  Fisk,  38  votes  Joel  Roberts,     1  vote    96 

Meeting  dissolved,  Nathaniel  Edson,   Town  Clerk. 

1805,  March.  Voted,  to  accept  Report  of  the  Committee  on  leasing  the 
Ministerial  Lands,  viz.,  1.  That  said  Lands  ought  to  be  leased  on  long 
leases  soon  as  may  be.  2.  That  provition  ought  to  be  made  to  secure  from 
said  Lands  a  Fund  the  interest  of  which,  when  added  yearly  to  the  yearly 
income  from  said  Lands,  will  be  sufficient  to  support  a  minister  without  resort 
to  taxation.  4.  That  effective  provition  ought  to  be  made  to  secure  the 
town  from  any  loss  they  might  otherwise  sustain  from  the  Depreciation  of  the 
value  of  money. 

1806,  March.  Voted,  to  raise  $25  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  set  of 
weights  and  measures  for  the  use  of  this  town. 

1807,  February.  Voted,  to  give  the  Selectmen  Liberty  to  License  one 
House  in  said  Town  for  the  Innoculation  of  Small  Pox. 

1807,  March.  Voted,  that  the  price  of  a  pare  of  Oxen  per  Day  when  at 
work  on  the  highways  shall  be  Eackwell  to  a  man,  and  thatPlowes  and  Carts 
shall  be  25  cents  per  day  and  all  extra  damage  made  good. 

GRANE   ORDERS 

A  few  itemized  orders  given  by  the  Selectmen,  beginning 
1819,  are  found  from  which  the  following  are  taken.  Most  of 
these  are  for  payment  in  "grane,"  i.  e.  wheat,  corn  or  other 
grains. 

Gave  an  order  to  Leonard  Harrington  for  grane  Oct.  30,  1819,         $108.00 
'*     M         «'•     "         "  M  "     cash  83.10 

The  above  were  for  repairing  roads  in  1819,  with  interest        b  3.36 

Gave  order  to  R.  W.  Fenton  for  grane  $75  for  work  on  Sanger's  Bridge. 

Gave  an  order  to  David  Stowell  for  grane  29  Jan.  1820  towards  boarding 
Polly  Cheney  the  year  past,  $10.00 

2  grane  Orders  to  Stephen  Hawkins  for  services  as  Selectman  and 
things  furnished  the  Burying  ground,  $18.84 

Gave  a  grane  order  to  Joseph   Pierce  Feb.   4,    1820  for  digging 
graves,  3.00 


104  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Gave  a  grane  ord  to  David  Goss,  4  Feb.   1820   for  Bords  to  make 
Burying  Ground  fence  in  said  district,  $3.83 

Gave  2  grane  orders  to  Calvin  Jewett,  Feb.   1820  for  account  for 
medsin  &  services  for  Polly  Cheney,  $4.16    $2.90 

Gave  2  grane  orders  to  Joseph  Fairbanks,  4  Feb.  1820  for  Plank  Pur- 
chased of  him,  $5.93    $2.66 

Gave  grane  order  to  Ephraim  Paddock,  4  Mch.   1820  for  Discon- 
tinuing caus  in  Cort  vs.  Town,  $4.00 

Grane  order  to  Calvin  Jewett,  16  Mch.  1820,  for  oil  to  clean   Town 
Guns,  .60 

Contra,  March  20,  1820. 

Amount  of  grane  in  hands  of  Treasurer  as  appeared  on  settlement 

with  him  on  16  March  1820,  $132.95 

Amount  of  cash  in  hands  of  Treasurer,  ditto,  $010.55 

Cash  rec'd  of  Huxham  Paddock  for  fine  vs.  Billings,  $1.00 

Note  of  Jonas  Flint  for  fine  vs.   Geo.   Page  for   firing  on  training 

day,  $1.00 

THE   OLD   BURYAL   GROUND 

What  is  now  known  as  Monument  Square  and  the  Caledonia 
Court  House  grounds,  was  for  sixty  years  used  for  the  burial  of 
the  dead  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  It  was  gratuitously  deeded 
by  Jonathan  Arnold,  June  28,  1790,  for  this  purpose,  being  part 
of  original  Right  No.  10,  in  the  township,  described  as  "a  point 
projecting  eastward  from  the  Plain."     The  deed  states  as  follows: 

"In  consideration  of  the  benefits  and  conveniences  which  will  result  to 
the  settlers  and  inhabitants,  as  well  as  others  who  shall  hereafter  settle  and 
inhabit  within  the  limits  of  the  said  South  Parish,  and  for  other  good 
reasons  me  thereunto  moving,  I,  by  these  presents  do  give,  grant,  convey 
and  confirm  to  John  Todd  son  of  Thomas  Todd,  and  to  Wm.  Purchase 
Trescott  son  of  William  Trescott,  in  trust  to  and  for  the  sole  benefit  and  be- 
hoof of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  South  Parish  forever,  this  tract  of  land  for 
the  following  purposes  only,  viz.  for  a  bdryal  ground,  and  the  erection  of 
a  School  House  or  any  other  Public  Building  which  may  hereafter  be  found 
convenient  and  necessary  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  South  Parish  forever 
and  if  judged  by  them  proper,  for  a  Lawful  Pound  and  for  a  Post  and 
Stocks." 

No  record  appears  of  the  erection  of  the  said  Whipping  Post 
or  other  conveniences.  It  was  stipulated  in  the  conveyance  "that 
the  lot  be  within  one  year  well  cleared  off  and  fenced  with  a  good 
Log  or  other  Fence,  which  should  be  forever  after  maintained ; 


SOURCE  BOOKS  OF  HISTORY  105 

also  that  within  two  years  a  framed  house  of  not  less  than  36  by 
30  feet  be  built,  planked,  boarded,  shingled  and  otherwise  com- 
pleted, so  as  to  be  fit  for  keeping  a  school  therein  both  winter 
and  summer,  or  for  any  other  public   use  judged  proper." 

Though  the  above  stipulations  were  never  entirely  met  ac- 
cording to  the  letter,  their  main  intent  was  effectively  carried  out 
by  the  use  of  the  premises,  first  as  a  burial  ground,  and  ultimately 
as  at  present,  for  "other  public  uses"  of  superior  importance,  in- 
dicated in  a  following  paragraph. 

A  pathetic  interest  attaches  to  this  transfer  of  land  for  the 
public  benefit.  The  first  burial  therein  was  that  of  Alice  Craw- 
ford, wife  of  the  donor,  who  two  months  before  had  been  laid  in 
the  homestead  yard — her  grandson  was  Judge  Noah  Davis  of 
New  York — three  years  later  the  Doctor  himself,  and  six  years 
later  his  gifted  son,  Josias,  were  brought  here  for  burial ;  later 
another  son,  William  C.  1st ;  and  others,  and  last  of  all  Ruth,  the 
negress,  who  having  served  the  family  faithfully  half  a  century, 
came  to  her  rest  with  them  in  the  same  enclosure. 

GROUNDS  FOR  A  COURT  HOUSE 

Sixty  years  after  the  original  grant  of  this  "point  of  land 
projecting  eastward  from  the  Plain"  a  new  and  unexpected  de- 
mand arose  for  grounds  suitable  for  public  uses  which  no  other 
spot  in  the  town  could  so  well  supply.  The  need  of  a  town  house 
on  the  Plain  was  imperative,  and  St.  Johnsbury  having  become 
the  shire  of  Caledonia  County,  a  Court  House  must  be  provided. 
Meantime  as  a  place  for  burial  this  enclosure  had  become  wholly 
inadequate  ;  as  a  town  charge  it  had  suffered  the  neglect  that 
commonly  befell  such  enclosures  ;  its  tangles  of  briar  roses  and 
other  decorative  miscellany  running  wild  could  not  make  it  an 
ornamental  feature  on  the  main  street.  The  opening  of  Mount 
Pleasant  Cemetery  in  1852  led  many  families  to  remove  their 
dead  to  that  attractive  spot ;  for  three  years  this  was  being  done  j 
in  1856  an  arrangement  was  perfected  for  the  transfer  of  all  who 
remained  in  the  old  ground  and  the  appropriation  of  this  tract  of 
land  to  town  and  county  uses.      A  quit-claim  deed   of  the  prem- 


106  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ises  was  made  by  William  C.  Arnold,   representing  the   heirs   of 
Jonathan  Arnold,  the  full  text  of  which  is  as  follows : 

"Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  William  C.  Arnold  of  St.  Johns- 
bury,  County  Caledonia,  for  the  consideration  of  one  dollar  received  in  full 
to  my  satisfaction,  by  the  Trustees  rof  the  Village  of  St.  Johnsbury  in  said 
County,  have  remissed,  released  and  forever  quit-claimed  unto  the  said 
Trustees  of  the  Village  of  St.  Johnsbury  and  their  successors  in  office,  all 
right  and  title  which  I,  the  said  Arnold,  or  my  heirs,  have  in  and  to  the  fol- 
lowing described  land  in  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury,  aforesaid,  viz  : 

"The  piece  of  ground  in  said  village  heretofore  used  for  a  burying  ground, 
and  from  which  the  bodies  interred  there  have  been  recently  removed  for  the 
purpose  of  having  erected  thereon  a  Court  House  and  the  proper  public  offices 
therein  for  the  County  of  Caledonia;  and  also  for  a  suitable  Town  Hall  there- 
on for  the  use  of  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury;  and  the  residue  of  said  land  to 
be  used  as  ornamental  public  grounds;  and  said  land  is  not  conveyed  for  any 
other  purpose  or  use  whatever,  except  those  above  specified. 

"To  have  and  to  hold  all  my  right  and  title  in  and  to  said  remissed,  re- 
leased and  quit-claimed  premises  to  the  said  Trustees  and  their  successors  in 
office  for  the  objects  and  purposes  above  specified.  And  I,  the  said  William 
C.  Arnold,  for  myself  and  my  heirs  do  covenant  and  agree  to  and  with  said 
Trustees  and  their  successors  in  office,  that  I  will  warrant  and  defend  the 
title  to  the  above  described  premises;  and  that  they  shall  quietly  enjoy  the 
same  without  any  molestation  by  any  of  the  heirs  of  Jonathan  Arnold  former- 
ly of  said  St.  Johnsbury,  now  deceased,  so  long  as  the  same  shall  be  used  for 
the  above  purposes  and  no  other. 

"In  witness  whereof ,  I  Thave  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  24th 
January,  A.  D.  1856;  in  presence  of  Luke  P.  Poland  and  H.  H.  Deming. 

William  C.  Arnold,  5.  5. 

Acknowledged,  Jan.  24,  1856  before  Moses  Kittredge,  Justice  of  Peace. 

Received  for  record,  Feb.  28,  1856  at  12  o'clock,  M.  and  recorded. 

A.  J.  Willard,  Town  Clerk. 


Thus  came  about  an  unanticipated  fulfillment  of  the  spirit  and 
intent  of  the  original  conveyance  of  1790  as  regards  its  proposi- 
tion for  a  "public  building  convenient  and  necessary." 

For  its  present  uses  the  spot  is  an  ideal  one ;  in  view  of  the 
increasing  business  importance  of  the  town  as  well  as  the  inap- 
propriateness  of  a  large  grave  yard  in  the  heart  of  a  populous 
village,  the  event  arrived  at  may  be  considered  as  at  the  time  the 
most  felicitous  in  the  history  of  the  town  in  respect  to  public  con- 
venience and  permanent  improvement. 


SOURCE  BOOKS  OF  HISTORY  107 

OTHER    BURIAL   GROUNDS 

The  old  church  yard  at  the  Center  Village,  flanked  formerly 
by  three  church  buildings,  was  part  of  the  Eleazer  Sanger  prop- 
erty designated  for  a  burial  plot  in  1800.  The  first  burial  here 
was  that  of  a  boy,  son  of  Joseph  Vincent,  in  1801.  On  the  stones 
in  this  enclosure  we  read  many  names  that  were  well  known  in 
the  early  history  of  the  town,  not  a  few  of  whom  passed  the  mark 
of  eighty  years  of  age  :  Lieut.  Thomas  Pierce  and  Major  Israel 
Pierce,  Stephen  Putnam  and  Lieut.  Andrew  Putnam,  Ariel  Al- 
drich,  Alpheus  Goss,  Capt.  Samuel  French,  Hannah,  wife  of 
Eleazer  Sanger.  Among  those  originally  buried  here,  afterward 
removed  to  the  new  cemetery  north  of  the  village,  were  three  rev- 
olutionary veterans,  Joel  Roberts,  Simeon  Cobb,  Jonas  Flint. 
Since  the  opening  of  the  new  grounds  in  1850,  there  have  been  no 
interments  in  the  old  church  yard.  There  were  never  any  lots  or 
paths  laid  out  in  it ;  "every  one  buried  where  he  chose  ,"  trees  a 
foot  in  diameter  have  grown  over  some  of  the  graves  ;  two  are 
marked  by  flat  stones  from  the  field,  without  a  name. 

The  small  burial  garth  a  mile  above  Goss  Hollow  was  given 
for  the  use  of  that  neighborhood  by  Jeriah  Hawkins  and  Samuel 
Ayer,  on  whose  adjoining  farms  it  lay.  They  and  their  families 
were  buried  here  ;  also  the  Goss  family,  the  Houghtons  and 
others  of  that  first  generation.  This  is  the  most  retired  burial 
place  in  the  town,  surrounded  with  groves,  and  covered  with  a 
matting  of  myrtle  vines,  moss  pinks  and  sweet  williams. 

In  a  similar  secluded  nook  just  across  the  town  line  near  East 
Village,  is  the  resting  place  of  Mrs.  James  Adams,  the  first  woman 
who  came  to  St.  Johnsbury,  in  1786,  nine  years  before  her  death. 
The  inscription  reads— "Mrs.  Submit  Adams  departed  this  life, 
Nov.  18,  A.  D.  1797,  aged  67  years." 

There  was  formerly  a  burial  place  in  Chesterfield  which,  in 
March  1829,  the  town  voted  to  fence  with  cedar  posts  and  boards. 

The  fencing  and  care  of  the  early  burial  grounds  was  always 
under  direction  and  expense  of  the  town  ;  not  usually  done  how- 
ever in  a  creditable  manner.  Experience  here,  as  elsewhere,  has 
conclusively  shown  that  a  Cemetery  Association  is  the  only  proper 
and  reliable  custodian  of  the  resting  places  of  the  dead. 


108  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Sometimes  however  the  sluggish  sensibilities  of  a  town  are 
moved  to  do  an  appropriate  thing  ;  as  when  it  was  voted  at  our 
town  meeting  in  1884,  "that  the  remains  of  Samuel  Jenkins,  a 
revolutionary  soldier,  now  in  potter's  field,  be  reinterred  in  a 
decent  place  in  the  East  Village  cemetery,  and  a  suitable  monu- 
ment erected,  the  expense  not  to  exceed  one  hundred  dollars." 


IX 


THE  OLD  DISTRICT  SCHOOL 


"In  New  England  schools  are  established  in  almost  every  township  and 
sm  all  district. ' '  Morse  1800. 

"The    years    after    the    Revolution,    till    about    1840,    form    the    most 
picturesque  period  in  our  educational  history."  Steuck,  1912. 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  SCHOOL — THE  OLD  SCHOOL  HOUSE 
— PLUMMET  AND  QUILL — THE  SPELLING  CLASS — MIDDLE  DIS- 
TRICT RECORDS — RITING  TABLES — PUBLICK  WORSHIP — MAS- 
TER BID  OFF — ROBERTS'  NARRATION — SLAB  CHILDREN — A 
PRIMITIVE  HEATER — THE  PLAIN  DISTRICT — A  MIGRATORY 
SCHOOLHOUSB— DAY  OF  JUDGMENT — BRANCH  BRIDGE  SCHOOL 
— BRIGHT  MEMORIES  —  SPAULDING  NEIGHBORHOOD  —  FAIR- 
BANKS  VILLAGE    SCHOOL    BOYS 


New  England  was  the  birthplace  of  the  public  school  sup- 
ported by  the  town  or  district.  Nothing  just  like  it  was  found 
anywhere  else  in  the  world,  not  even  at  first  in  the  other  colonies. 
In  1640  Gov.  Berkeley  of  Virginia  writing  to  the  Lords  of  the 
Plantation  in  England  said,  "I  thank  God  there  are  no  free 
schools  nor  printing  presses  here,  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have 
these  hundred  years."  That  same  year  Gov.  Hopkins  of  Con- 
necticut reported  "one-fourth  of  our  annual  revenue  is  laid  out  in 
maintaining  public  schools."  In  1650  every  town  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay  having  fifty  families  was  required  to  have  a  free  public 
school.    The  settlers  of  our  state  bred  under  that  system,  brought 


110  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

it  with  them  to  their  new  homes  and  fixed  it  in  every  town  charter. 
In  1795,  about  fifty  families  being  established  in  this  township,  it 
was  divided  into  six  districts  and  small  schools  began  to  be  held 
in  private  houses. 

The  picturesque  period  above  referred  to,  began  in  this  town 
with  the  erection  of  district  school  houses  somewhile  after  1800. 
These  buildings  were  small  and  low,  unpainted,  made  of  hewn 
timbers  and  rough  boards,  costing  $250  or  more.  "Around  three 
sides  of  the  school  room  were  rude  benches  made  of  slabs,  with 
rounded  side  under,  each  slab  equipped  with  four  straddling 
wooden  legs  set  into  auger  holes.  From  these  seats  the  younger 
children's  legs  swayed  in  the  air  being  too  short  to  reach  the 
floor.  What  an  awe  fell  over  us  when  we  were  all  seated  and 
silence  reigned."  Reading,  spelling  and  cyphering  were  the 
branches  of  learning  principally  attended  to.  The  slate  and 
blackboard  had  not  yet  arrived.  Paper  was  had  in  large,  coarse 
brown  sheets,  unruled  and  unbleached,  generally  folded  into  four 
leaves  and  sometimes  adorned  with  a  gorgeous  wall  paper  cover. 
On  this  the  plummet  did  its  figuring  and  writing.  The  plummet 
was  an  important  instrument,  made  by  running  melted  lead  into 
a  shallow  groove,  sometimes  as  we've  been  told,  into  a  crack  of 
the  kitchen  floor,  then  when  cool  whittled  down  to  a  point  at  one 
end.  This  was  the  original  lead  pencil ;  it  vanished  from  off  the 
earth  long  ago,  but  transmitted  its  name  to  the  present  day  pencil 
of  graphite  which  hasn't  a  particle  of  lead  in  it.  The  pen  of  the 
period  was  a  slit  goose  quill,  shaped  by  the  sharp  penknife  of  the 
master  as  he  stands  at  the  window;  a  short  lived  pen,  but  not 
easily  surpassed  as  a  smooth  running  instrument.  The  Gillott 
steel  pen  did  not  appear  till  about  1830,  and  at  twenty-five  cents  a 
pen  was  considered  costly.  The  quill  continued  in  school  and 
common  use  till  1840,  and  when  it  finally  took  flight,  transmitted 
its  name,  penna,  to  the  entire  family  of  metallic  pens  now  in  use. 

The  old  time  district  school  itself,  like  its  antiquated  pen  and 
pencil,  has  given  way  to  the  new  time  improvements.  The  inde- 
pendent sovereignty  of  the  district  is  now  merged  with  the  town, 
which  owns  the  buildings  and  by  its  directors  administers  the 
schools.  If  the  schools  of  long  ago  seem  crude  in  comparison,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  their  work  in  developing  character  and 


THE  OLD  DISTRICT  SCHOOL  111 

intelligence  was  invaluable.  To  those  whose  memory  goes  back 
far  enough,  pleasant  pictures  of  that  waning  picturesque  period 
rise  to  view  ;  for  example,  the  crack  on  the  floor  which  every  pair 
of  feet  in  the  spelling  class  had  to  toe ;  the  bright  girl  who  could 
outspell  the  others  and  walk  up  to  the  head  of  the  line  and  wear 
the  medal  of  honor.     Whittier  put  it  into  verse  forty  years  after  : 

"Still  sits  the  school-house  by  the  road, 

A  ragged  beggar  sleeping; 
Around  it  still  the  sumachs  grow, 
And  blackberry  vines  are  creeping. 

"Within,  the  master's  desk  is  seen, 

Deep  scarred  by  raps  official; 
The  warping  floor,  the  battered  seats, 
The  jack-knife's  carved  initial—" 

and  lingering  at  the  door-step  the  little  miss  in  a  blue-checked 
apron  making  her  artless  confession 

"I'm  sorry  that  I  spelt  the  word, 
I  hate  to  go  above  you." 

Additional  details  respecting  our  first  school  houses  will  be 
found  farther  on  in  the  Roberts  narration.  Two  of  the  earliest 
district  record  books  have  escaped  the  mischances  of  time  and 
have  been  deposited  in  the  Athenaeum :  from  these  the  minutes 
that  follow  are  taken. 

MIDDLE    DISTRICT   RECORDS 

No  district  records  are  found  prior  to  1805.  The  items  here 
given  are  from  District  No.  5,  in  the  center  of  the  town. 

Dec.  14,  1805.  At  a  Schoolmeeting  of  the  Middle  School  District  legally 
warned  and  holden  at  Lieut.  Thos.  Pierce's— Voted,  and  chose  Lieut.  Thos. 
Pierce  Moderator.  Voted,  and  chose  Samuel  A.  Wheeler  District  Clerk. 
Voted,  and  chose  Ebenezer  Sanderson  Collector  of  District  Taxes.  Voted,  and 
chose  Esquire  Edson,  Eleazer  Sanger,  Richard  W.  Fenton  as  Prudential 
Committee.  Meeting  dissolved. 

Jan.  5,  1807,  Then  met  agreeable  to  warrant  and  made  choice  of  Capt. 
Daniel  Pierce  as  Moderator.  Voted,  to  raise  $30  for  schooling  this  winter. 
Voted,  to  have  the  School  House  set  up  at  vendue  and  built  by  the  lowest 
bidder.     Voted,  to  pay   for  the  School  House  one-third   part  in   Cash,   the 


112  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

other  two-thirds  in  Wheat  and  Corn.  Voted,  to  have  the  house  finished 
by  the  first  day  of  October  next.  Voted,  that  whoever  shall  engage  to 
build  said  house  shall  complete  the  same  by  the  first  day  of  October,  and  in 
default  thereof  he  shall  lose  all  the  labor  done  to  said  house  and  forfeit 
$500.  The  house  was  set  up  at  vendue  and  bid  off  to  Thos.  Pierce,  with 
half  an  acre  of  land,  for  $265.  Voted,  to  have  the  house  built  with  wood 
and  painted. 

Oct.  30,  1812.  Voted,  to  raise  $70  payable  in  grain  to"defray  the  ex- 
pense of  four  months  schooling  this  winter.  Voted,  to  fetch  one-fourth  of  a 
cord  of  wood  to  a  schollar,  to  be  fetched  by  the  tenth  of  January,  and  all 
thos  that  neglect  are  to  pay  one  Dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  cord. 

A  gap  of  nine  years  occurs  in  the  records  from  1812  to  1821. 
Meantime  a  new  school  house  had  been  contemplated  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river  where  the  Center  Village  was  then  growing  up. 
The  old  one  was  on  Lieut.  Pierce's  land  near  the  old  meeting 
house.  The  district  took  action  as  to  the  missing  records  by 
voting  "to  pass  over  the  old  records  and  start  from  the  time  that 
we  left  the  old  school  house  and  moved  over  the  river  to  the 
Brick  school  house." 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1821,  it  was  voted  to  build  of  Brick- 
perhaps  the  proximity  of  Capt.  French's  brick  yard  determined 
this — and  the  contract  was  given  to  Isaac  Wing  for  $230  to  be 
completed  by  Oct.  1,  1822.  The  location  was  fixed  April  15,  1822, 
to  be  "near  Sanger's  barn  instid  of  the  place  by  the  gid-board." 
This  would  be  not  far  from  the  site  now  occupied.  That  the  new 
house  was  completed  on  time  is  to  be  inferred,  for  on  the  29th  of 
October  it  was  voted,  "not  to  have  any  meatings  of  publick  wor- 
ship held  in  the  new  Brick  School  house."  At  a  later  date  it  was 
voted  "that  their  bee  riting  tables  in  front  of  the  back  riting 
table." 

Nov.  21,  1825.  At  a  school  meating  illeagally  warned  and  holten  at  the 
school  house  on  Monday  Nov.  21,  1825.  Voted,  and  chose  Nahum  Stiles  as 
Moderator.  Voted,  to  have  a  singing  school  in  said  house  the  winter  insuing. 
Voted,  and  chose  Walter  Wright  and  Wm.  P.  Stoughton  as  Committee  to 
superintend  and  take  care  of  said  house  threw  the  ceaping  of  said  singing 
school.    Meeting  disolved. 

April  15,  1826.  Then  met  agreeable  to  warrant  and  made  chois  of  Capt. 
Ira  Armington  as  Moderator.  Voted,  to  have  five  months  schooling  the  sum- 
mer insuing.  Voted,  to  rais  $35  payable  February  1827  to  defray  the  ex- 
pence  of  said  school.  Board  put  up  at  vandew  and  bid  off  to  Capt.  Arming- 
ton  for  fifty  cents  per  weak. 


THE  OLD  DISTRICT  SCHOOL  113 

March,  1829.  ,  The  town  meeting  chose  Erastus  Fairbanks,  Lucius  Kim- 
ball, Stephen  Hawkins,  Luther  Jewett,  Isaac  Harrington  a  superintind  com- 
mittee to  visit  Schools;  to  receive  50  cents  a  day  when  so  employed. 

Dec.  7,  1830.  Then  met  agreeable  to  the  warrant  and  made  chois  of 
Philow  Bradley  as  Moderator.  Voted,  to  reconsider  the  vote  not  to  have 
meetings  of  Publick  worship  held  in  the  school  house.  This  vote  stands  re- 
considered until  the  last  of  May  next.  Voted,  to  have  meetings  held  in  the 
school  house  until  the  last  of  May  next  on  Sundays.  Voted,  to  have  the  time 
divided  ace.  to  the  grand  list  between  the  several  sosietes  in  said  Destrict. 
Voted,  that  the  Methodists  hold  their  meeting  next  Sabbath  in  the  school 
house. 

Notice.  By  request  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  School  Destrict 
No.  5,  in  St.  J.  the  Destrict  is  hereby  notified  and  warned  to  meet  at  the 
schoolhouse  in  said  Destrict  on  Saturday  the  18th  inst.  at  4  'elk.  Afternoon  : 
viz.  first  to  chuse  a  moderator  to  govern  said  meeting.  2nd  to  see  if  the 
Destrict  will  reconsider  the  vote  taken  Dec.  7,  admitting  meetings  of  Publick 
worship  in  the  Schoolhouse  on  Sundays. 

Dec.  18,  1830.  Then  met  agreeable  to  the  Foregoing  warent,  and  voted 
not  to  reconsider  the  vote  admitting  meetings  of  Publick  worship. 

Note.  "Their  was  a  nother  meeting  called  out  of  spite.  But  never 
met." 

Oct.  26,  1833.  Voted,  to  have  a  woman  school  3  months,  to  commence 
at  the  usual  time,  and  a  man  school  2\  months,  commencing  two  weeks 
later.  Voted,  to  raise  $75  for  the  support  of  the  two  schools.  Voted,  to  bid 
off  the  board  at  auction.  The  Master  was  bid  off  at  91  cents  a  week,  and 
the  mistress  at  86  cents  a  week  by  Joseph  Hutchinson. 

ROBERTS'    NARRATIVE 

The  narrative  of  H.  N.   Roberts   gives  additional  particulars 
about  the  early  school  houses  of  the  Middle  District. 

"The  first  one  was  built  about  100  rods  from  the  River  on  the  west  side  ; 
it  was  not  verry  large,  the  outside  was  clapboarded  and  the  inside  was 
sheathed  up  with  wide  boards;  two  rows  of  seats  around,  and  then  a  row  of 
seats  part  way  around,  and  were  made  of  slabs  with  the  flat  side  up  for  the 
little  ones  to  sit  on— they  were  called  the  Slab  Children. 

"For  heating  the  Schoolhouse,  was  a  fire  Place  made  of  common  stone, 
but  it  did  not  warm  much,  so  they  thought  of  another  way.  They 
made  a  large  hearth  of  stone  and  then  got  a  large  kettle,  (for  they  had  large 
kettles  in  olden  times  to  boil  down  lye  they  made  from  ashes  of  logs  burnt  for 
that  purpose,  to  make  what  they  called  salts,  they  could  sell  the  salts  and  get 
money,  for  money  was  verry  scarce)  so  as  there  was  not  any  stoves  in  those 
times  they  substitute  a  kettle  for  a  stove;  the  kettle  was  turned  over  botom 
side  up  ;  a  hole  was  made  on  one  side  to  put  the  wood  in,  and  another  on  the 


114  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

top  to  put  on  a  sort  of  a  pipe  to  carry  off  the  smoke.  This  made  a  great  im- 
provement in  the  warming  of  the  House.  The  Kettle  was  an  old-fashioned 
Potash  Kettle  ;  they  Paied  the  School  Marm  from  80  cents  to  a  Dollar  a 
week  and  Board  for  their  services. 

"The  next  School  House  was  built  in  the  Villiage,  where  the  Larnerd 
house  afterward  was;  it  was  Built  of  Brick,  was  a  good  sized  house,  would 
acomodate  a  Hundred  Scholars.  In  Winter  the  average  attendance  was 
about  75,  some  days  when  all  in  would  number  a  Hundred.  It  was  made 
with  three  rows  of  seats  on  the  sides  and  two  on  the  ends,  and  warmed  by  a 
Fire  Place  at  first,  but  that  would  not  warm  enough,  so  they  put  in  a  stove; 
this  made  it  more  comfortable,  but  thos  that  sat  on  the  back  seats  it  was  cold 
to  their  Backs — no  studing  but  was  plastered  on  to  the  brick  walls  which 
made  it  cold  to  Lean  against.  After  some  years  this  school  house  needed 
much  repairing,  it  was  too  small,  and  a  new  one  was  built  about  a  Hundred 
rods  from  the  main  road  with  modern  Improvements,  with  Desks  two  to  a 
Desk,  with  a  good  Black  Board  and  warmed  as  the  other  was  with  Stoves.  It 
was  Burnt  in  1876." 

So  far  as  any  record  appears,  the  old  school  house  that  was 
heated  by  the  potash  kettle  was  the  first  building  erected  for 
school  purposes  in  the  town.  It  stood  not  far  from  the  Old  Meet- 
ing House  on  the  hill.  Schools  prior  to  that  time  were  held  in 
rooms  provided  in  some  dwelling  for  such  use  in  the  district. 

The  first  school  in  the  Four  Corners,  after  the  districting  of 
the  town  in  1795,  was  held  in  Gardner  Wheeler's  house  ;  a  sim- 
ilar provision  was  made  for  the  pioneer  school  on  the  Plain. 


A  SCHOOL  GIRL  SWOWS 

"I  went  to  school  in  1831,  and  used  to  hear  the  older  girls  say  what  I 
thought  were  swear  words.  Suky  and  Roancy  used  to  say  "I  swow,  I  swan- 
ny."  They  wanted  me  to  say  them  and  I  wouldn't.  The  shed  built  against 
the  school  house  had  sagged  off,  leaving  a  space  where  a  child  by  squeezing 
could  get  through  into  the  field  behind  the  school  house.  One  day  I  went 
thro  that  place  squatted  down  on  the  grass  and  whispered  "I  swow!"  then 
bit  my  lips  and  got  up  and  squeezed  my  way  between  the  shed  and  school 
house,  and  went  in.  I  felt  guilty,  but  never  told  anyone  till  I  was  grown  up. 
I  was  five  years  old  then. 

"Long  years  after  I  went  to  see  that  old  school  house  which  had  then 
been  cut  up  for  family  rooms.  I  slept  in  one  of  them  that  night,  and  in  the 
morning  on  looking  up  at  the  plastering  there  were  some  of  the  old  paper 
wads  thrown  by  the  boys,  still  sticking  to  the  ceiling!" 


THE  OLD  DISTRICT  SCHOOL  115 

HOME  FROM  SCHOOL 

**  rTis  five  o'clock,  the  school  is  done, 
The  girls  and  boys  are  off  for  home, 
The  children  want  their  supper  quick, 
Come  Betty,  get  the  pudding  stick! 

"'The  cows  are  coming  from  the  vale, 
Molly,  bring  the  milking  pail 
And  milk  as  quick  as  e'er  you  can 
And  strain  it  in  the  largest  pan  ; 

"'Now  take  the  bowls  and  dip  it  out 
And  drop  the  pudding  all  about, 

Now  children,  you  may  come  and  eat, 
The  pudding's  new,  the  milk  is  sweet ; 

"And  then  undress  and  go  upstairs 
And  when  you  all  have  said  your  prayers 
Then  you  may  lay  you  down  to  sleep 
And  rest  till  morning  light  doth  peep." 

E.  H. 

St.  Johnsbury,  1835. 

THE  PLAIN  DISTRICT 

The  organization  of  this  school  district  was  made  in  1807, 
under  the  following  call —  "school  meeting  !  The  inhabitants 
of  the  school  district  in  St.  Johnsbury  commonly  known  by  the 
name  of  The  Plain  District  are  hereby  notified  to  meet  at  the 
dwelling  house  of  Joseph  Lord  Esq.  on  Wed.  18th  of  February  in- 
stant, at  4  'elk.  afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  said  Dis- 
trict as  the  Law  Directs. 

Gardner  Wheeler,  Luther  Jewett,  Selectmen,  St.  Johnsbury, 
Feb.  5,  1807." 

"Feb.  18,  1807.  Meeting  opened  agreeable  to  above  warning.  Luther 
Jewett  was  chosen  Moderator,  andB.  Bissell -Clerk  of  said  district.  B.  Barker, 
John  Moore  and  John  Clark,  Committee  to  superintend  the  Prudential  affairs 
of  said  district.  Hubbard  Lawrence  chosen  Collector  for  said  District. 
Meeting  Dissolved.     Attest  B.  Bisskll,  Clerk." 

The  number  of  school  children  in  the  district'at  this  date  was 
54,  between  the  age  of  four  and  eighteen  years. 


116  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

On  March  30,  1807,  the  question  of  building  a  school  house 
was  taken  up.  It  was  "Voted,  eight  for  and  five  against,  to  pur- 
chase apiece  of  land  opposite  the  house  which  E.  Humphrey  lives 
in  on  the  east  side  of  the  road.  Voted,  to  raise  $200  on  the  polls 
and  ratable  estate  of  the  Inhabitants  of  said  District  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  school  house  in  said  District ;  one  half  to  be 
paid  in  money,  the  other  half  in  grain,  by  the  first  day  of  January 
next,  ten  voting  in  favor  and  four  against  it."  It  was  also  voted 
to  raise  $50  on  the  polls  and  estate  to  provide  for  an  instructor. 

The  school  house  was  put  up  that  summer,  but  at  a  cost  ex- 
ceeding the  $200  appropriated.  In  January  1808  an  additional 
$125  was  authorized.  It  was  also  voted  that  Theophilus  Grout 
pay  full  price  for  the  instruction  of  his  girl ;  from  this  it  would 
appear  that  Kirby,  which  had  only  just  arrived  at  town  organiza- 
tion, was  looking  to  St.  Johnsbury  for  educational  facilities. 

The  said  piece  of  land  opposite  E.  Humphrey's  was  probably 
half  way  up  from  the  Bend,  but  the  school  house  did  not  stay 
there  very  long.  Within  three  years  it  was  "moved  to  the  north 
end  of  the  Plain,  as  being  most  advantageous  to  accommodate  all 
parts  of  said  District;"  three  years  later  it  was  moved  again  in 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  burying  ground,  where  we  now  turn 
down  into  Eastern  Avenue,  and  in  addition  to  these  recorded 
transits,  tradition  names  three  more,  making  a  total  of  six  locali- 
ties covered  by  this  migratory  little  structure.  Miss  Rhoda  Smith 
is  reported  as  the  first  teacher ;  in  1810  while  the  building  was  so- 
journing at  the  north  end,  Miss  Hannah  Paddock  was  mistress. 
During  the  burial  ground  period  in  the  winter  of  1814,  a  man 
teacher  was  in  charge ;  no  less  a  man  than  William  Goodell, 
whose  remarkable  work  as  a  missionary  in  Constantinople  made 
him  widely  distinguished  in  after  years.  His  vivacity,  wit  and 
energy  brought  life  to  this  little  school,  and  he  still  further  en- 
livened the  community  by  a  series  of  singing  lessons  given  during 
the  winter  evenings. 

The  number  of  children  from  four  to  eighteen  years  of  age  in 
the  Plain  District  was  fifty-four  in  1807,  fifty-seven  in  1810, 
seventy-eight  in  1820,  fifty-six  in  1830.  During  the  decade  ending 
1830  the  average  number  was  fifty-seven,  an  increase  of  only  three 
in  23  years. 


THE  OLD  DISTRICT  SCHOOL  117 

Regular  semi-annual  meetings  of  the  District  were  held  to 
make  provision  for  the  summer  and  winter  schools;  aside  from 
this,  few  other  items  of  interest  appear  on  the  records.  In  1813 
it  was  voted  not  to  have  any  needle  work  or  knitting  admitted  in 
to  the  school.  The  District  officers  for  1823  were  Ephraim 
Paddock,  moderator ;  R.  H.  Deming,  district  clerk  duly  sworn 
into  office  by  Luther  Clark,  justice  of  the  peace ;  Ephraim  Pad- 
dock, Samuel  Crossman,  John  Clark,  school  committee,  Levi 
Fuller,  collector. 

"Nov.  10,  1828.  Voted,  to  sell  a  small  lot  of  wood  which  is  dirty  and 
cannot  be  used,  at  auction;  and  Hezekiah  Martin  bid  off  the  same  for  twenty 
cents.  On  the  question  being  put,  who  will  get  5  cords  Birch,  Beech  or 
Maple  wood,  cut  and  split  fit  for  stove  and  put  in  to  the  shed  by  first  of  July 
next— when  Capt.  Martin  bid  off  the  same  at  $1.19  per  cord." 

THE  DAY  OF  JUDGMENT 

One  of  the  septuagenarians  of  the  village  has  this  reminis- 
cence of  the  method  of  discipline  practiced  on  her  mother  in  the 
district  school  of  former  time.  The  master  appeared  very  genial 
and  lenient  thro  the  entire  term ;  but  it  was  noticed  that  whenever 
any  irregularity  came  to  the  surface,  he  took  a  note  book  from  his 
drawer  and  made  an  entry  therein.  This,  he  remarked,  was  for 
the  Judgment  Day. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  of  the  term,  the  boys  and 
girls  all  being  in  their  seats  a  little  better  dressed  than  usual,  the 
doors  of  the  little  brown  school  house  were  locked  and  the  great 
wooden  window  shutters  closed  and  hasped.  In  the  resulting 
darkness  announcement  was  solemnly  made  that  The  Day  of  Judg- 
ment had  come.  The  little  girl  who  in  afterlife  narrated  this  was 
then  punished  for  being  tardy,  by  standing  fifteen  minutes  on  the 
top  of  the  stove,  the  fire  being  out.  Other  girls  for  offences  of 
giggling  or  whispering,  had  their  ears  twisted  or  were  set  to  hold 
weights  out  at  arm's  length  so  many  minutes.  Boys  were  ordered 
to  pull  off  their  jackets  preparatory  to  the  birch  rod  application,  or 
to  present  their  hands  for  the  master's  ferule;  this  was  in  judg- 
ment for  their  doings  with  bent  pins  or  paper  wads.  The  exer- 
cises of  The  Judgment  Day  were  conducted  with  serious   exact- 


118  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ness  and  formality  ;  each  boy  or  girl  was  called  out  by  name,  the 
offence  was  read  from  the  book  and  sentence  thereupon  pro- 
nounced as  it  were  from  the  supreme  bench. 

MAKING   MONEY 

"My  first  school  was  over  in  Waterford  Hollow.  The  pay  was  $1.50  a 
week.  The  next  summer  I  taught  at  South  Kirby  and  had  a  dollar  a  week 
and  boarded  around.  During  two  summers  I  taught  in  St.  Johnsbury.  The 
most  I  ever  received  for  teaching  was  two  dollars  a  week.  I  went  down  to 
Newbury  Seminary  for  two  terms,  and  suppose  I  learned  something,  but  as  I 
think  of  it  now,  it  seems  to  have  been  a  superficial  school." 

EARNING   MONEY 

' '  A  man  in  the  neighborhood  above  Moose  River  came  home  one  day 
and  told  his  wife  he  had  hired  a  girl  to  work  for  a  dollar  a  week.  She 
replied  that  a  dollar  a  week  was  too  much.  No  girl  could  earn  that  amount. 
The  man  thought  this  one  could,  and  she  came.  Her  name  was  Rebecca 
Richardson.  It  was  soon  admitted  that  she  was  well  worth  her  wages. 
After  working  all  day  and  doing  up  the  supper  dishes,  she  would  spend  the 
entire  evening  with  her  needle  and  make  up  three  sheets  before  nine 
o'clock." 

This  was  before  1833;  at  that  time  the  cotton  mills  were 
started  in  Lowell,  and  agents  came  up  to  St.  Johnsbury  offering 
large  wages  for  operatives.  The  result  was  that  farmers' 
daughters  in  great  numbers  went  to  those  mills;  three  at  one 
time  from  one  family. 

THE    BRANCH   BRIDGE    SCHOOL 

Moose  River  was  first  known  as  the  East  Branch.  On  the 
bluff  just  north  of  its  confluence  with  the  Passumpsic  where  one 
now  turns  in  toward  the  town  farm  was  a  small  school  house 
where  for  the  first  forty  years  of  the  century  nearly  all  the  chil- 
dren east  of  the  Plain  and  south  of  the  Butler  meadows  got  their 
schooling.  One  of  them  revisiting  the  spot  with  some  of  the 
school  mates  of  fifty  years  before,  records  his  remembrance  of 
the  woodlands  by  the  river  "where  they  learned  to  climb  and  to 
swim ;  and  of  the  little  school  house  where  they  learned  to  read 
and  spell  and  make  their  manners  ;  their  stirring  young  life  gave 


THE  OLD  DISTRICT  SCHOOL  119 

them  bounding  vitality  ;  fights  were  frequent,  cowards  were  few, 
and  do  you  remember 

"The  bragging  and  betting  and  boasting 
Over  our  sleds  in  those  bygone  days ; 
And  the  marvelous  speed  of  the  coasting ; 

The  lusty  shouting  of  the  boys, 

The  half-scared  daring  of  the  girls, 
The  grand,  tumultuous,  healthful  joys, 

The  flash  and  flutter  of  wanton  curls 
When  plumb  into  snow  drifts  like  lightning  we  flew, 

With  a  thud  and  a  whirl 
And  for  two  glorious  minutes  we  none  of  us  knew 

Which  was  a  boy  and  which  was  a  girl ; 

"  And  do  you  remember  the  spelling-school  bees, 

And  Marshall's  old  speller,  our  pride, 
When  phthisic  and  heifer  and  victuals  and  frieze 

Were  the  stunners  so  few  could  abide, 

And  so  we  all  went  down  on  each  side. 
And  the  penal  inflictions  we  bore — 

One,  refined,  but  most  hard  to  endure 
Was,  to  seize  us  poor  wights  with  a  whirl 

And  set  us  plumb  down  with  a  girl ! 

"At  nooning  our  baskets  had  ample  supply, 
Of  goodies  a  plentiful  store ; 
Doughnuts  and  sausage  and  pie,  pumpkin  pie, 
And  when  empty  we  all  wanted  more." 

This  insatiable  desire  for  more,  was  no  new  thing  in  the  ju- 
venile history  of  the  town.  The  boys  and  girls  of  the  old  Middle 
District  years  before  used  to  carry  potatoes  and  milk  to  school  for 
their  dinner,  and  when  that  had  been  devoured  they  were  hungry 
for  more  of  the  same  sort. 

A  party  of  soldiers  returning  from  the  war  of  1812,  were 
quartered  for  a  night  in  the  old  Branch  Bridge  school  house ;  it 
is  related  that  they  used  the  blocks  of  hemlock  wood  for  pillows 
and  the  handkerchief  of  the  mistress  for  bandages. 

SPAULDING   NEIGHBORHOOD   SCHOOL 

In  1817  Cromwell  Leonard  began  teaching  this  school. 
Forty-seven   years    after   he   wrote,    "I  am  now  an  old  man,  but 


120  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

among  the  sweetest  remembrances  of  former  days  are  those  when 
I  taught  school  in  the  Spaulding  district ;  where  too  we  used  to 
sing  together,  and  friendship  seemed  to  run  from  heart  to  heart. 
Those  three  winters  in  that  school,  I  reckon  as  the  pleasantest 
in  all  my  years  of  teaching.  I  am  pleased  to  see  that  Fred  Bug- 
bee  has  been  a  justice  in  St.  Johnsbury  and  Nath.  Lee  in  Water- 
ford.  I  should  love  to  hear  about  John  Lee  and  Capt.  Stiles  and 
Moses  Hill  and  George  Keach  and  Aaron  Farnham,  and  others  of 
the  old  friends." 

THE    FAIRBANKS   VILLAGE    SCHOOL 

The  small  schoolhouse  was  set  a  short  way  up  Mt.  Vernon 
street,  on  what  was  then  the  only  road  to  Danville,  by  Pumpkin  Hill. 
Bill  Ryan's  big  dog  used  to  scare  the  children  and  not  infrequent- 
ly some  of  the  smaller  ones  had  to  have  an  escort  on  the  way  to 
school.  The  wrestling  contests  were  not  all  done  by  the  boys 
outside  the  school  house ;  Colburn's  mental  arithmetic  was  an 
antagonist  that  floored  most  of  them  inside.  It  was  in  the  wood- 
shed near  by  that  Charles  Fairbanks  found  an  axe  one  bitter  cold 
morning  in  1831.  The  axe  was  new  and  the  coating  of  frost  on 
it  looked  so  nice  he  thought  he  would  like  to  find  out  how  it 
tasted.  He  gave  it  a  smart  lick  with  his  tongue;  this  fully  satis- 
fied his  curiosity. 

A  popular  place  of  resort  for  the  boys  was  an  old  horse  shed 
down  by  the  river  side.  One  summer  evening  a  lad  who  lived 
where  the  Fairbanks  Office  now  stands,  started  up  after  supper  to 
go  out  doors.  ''You  won't  go  out  beyond  the  gate,  Edward," 
said  the  father.  "No  sir."  Presently  however  the  call  of  the 
boys  down  in  the  shed  seemed  to  eliminate  from  remembrance 
the  paternal  word,  and  he  suddenly  found  himself  joyously  with 
them  inspecting  an  old  rusty  straw  cutter.  "Stump  you  to  put 
your  finger  in  the  cog-wheel,"  said  one  of  them.  The  finger 
promptly  went  in  J  it  promptly  came  out,  shorter  than  it  went  in — 
the  crank  had  been  given  a  whirl.  Of  that  event  the  writer  of 
this  paragraph  retains  a  vivid  remembrance  and  a  stumped  fore- 
finger. 


X 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION 

DETERMINED  IN  THE  NEGATIVE — TEN  YEARS*  AGITATION — FINAL 
VOTE  FOR  TOWN  AND  MEETING  HOUSE — BUILDER'S  CONTRACT 
— A  GREAT  RAISING — VENDUE  OF  PEWS — A  HISTORIC 
STRUCTURE — FIRST  CHURCH  ORGANIZED — USAGES  AND  DOINGS 
— CHRISTIAN  NURTURE — RELIGION  OF  SERIOUS  TYPE — INCI- 
DENTS— THE  UNIVERSALIST  SOCIETY — CONSTITUTION — PROM- 
INENT MEN — NEW  HOUSE  AT  THE  CENTER — FIRST  CHRISTMAS 
OBSERVANCE. 

THE   OLD    MEETING   HOUSE   ON   THE    HILL 

"It  was  among  the  functions  of  a  town  in  those  days  to  raise  the 
minister's  salary,  to  build  the  meeting  house,  to  vote  money  for  bass-viols  and 
singing  schools,  and  other  similiar  necessities."  New  Eng.  Mag. 

Fourteen  years  passed  after  the  organization  of  the  town  be- 
fore the  erection  in  1804,  of  a  building  for  public  worship  and  for 
town  meetings.  The  result  was  arrived  at  by  a  ten  year  process 
of  recession  and  advance  of  the  town  meeting  tide ;  the  votes  run- 
ning, no,  yes,  no,  yes,  no,  no,  no,  yes,  no  by  default,  yes.  It 
would  gratify  us  to  be  assured  that  this  beating  off  the  question 
merely  signified  disapproval  of  the  principle  of  taxation  for  reli- 
gion ;  it  is  rather  to  be  feared  however  that  a  spirit  of  indifference 
was  prevalent. 

At  the  March  Meeting  of  1794,  "on  the  question  being  put — 
will  the  town  raise  money  by  a  tax  to  pay  for  preaching  of  the 
gospel,   it  was  determined  in  the  negative."     Three  years  later, 


122  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

March,  1797,  it  was  voted  to  raise  money  for  this  purpose,  but  be- 
fore adjournment  the  vote  was  rescinded.  The  next  year,  March 
1798,  it  was  voted  to  raise  $60  to  pay  for  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
and  Joel  Roberts,  Alex  Gilchrist,  Jeriah  Hawkins,  were  appointed 
to  hire  the  minister.  This  meeting  also  voted  to  build  a  house 
for  public  use,  56  x  46  feet  dimensions,  enclosed  with  rough 
boards  and  shingles.  The  meeting  adjourned  till  June  18,  to 
hear  the  report  of  the  committee  having  the  matter  in  hand.  At 
this  adjourned  session  it  was  voted  not  to  build  a  meeting  house. 
Another  meeting  was  called  and  held  on  the  6th  of  July,  at  which 
a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed  to  consider  the  business  and 
report,  which  they  did  an  hour  later,  as  follows  :  "Your  committee 
beg  to  report  that  it  is  their  Opinion  the  Town  ought  to  hire  a 
Minister  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  therefor  to  raise  $230,  payable 
in  wheat,  rye,  corn,  pork  and  beef,  for  his  yearly  salary."  "On 
motion,  voted  to  hire  a  minister."  Two  months  later,  Sept.  4, 
"on  the  question  being  put,  will  the  town  build  a  Meeting  House 
or  Town  House,  determined  in  the  negative.  It  was  put  to  vote 
to  see  if  the  town  would  raise  money  to  pay  for  further  preaching, 
and  determined  in  the  negative.  Voted  to  raise  $15  by  tax  as 
soon  as  may  be,  to  pay  the  Expense  of  Preaching  already  in- 
curred." 

We  would  like  to  know  who  this  first  preacher  was,  and  where 
he  stood  when  giving  his  message.  It  may  have  been  on  the 
Green  at  the  head  of  the  Plain,  or  in  one  of  the  few  houses  then 
on  the  street.  The  next  year,  July  15,  1799,  it  was  again  put  to 
vote  to  see  if  the  town  would  raise  money  to  hire  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  and  as  usual,  determined  in  the  negative.  Here  the 
matter  rested  nearly  two  years,  when  on  May  25,  1801,  it  was 
voted  to  raise  $100,  payable  in  grain  by  the  1st  of  February  next, 
to  pay  for  preaching.  The  first  of  February  came,  but  no  record 
of  grain  or  preacher.  Meantime  the  report  of  the  Committee  of 
Seven  of  July  6,  1798,  was  still  on  the  town  records,  viz  :  "that 
the  Town  ought  to  hire  a  minister,  and  to  raise  therefor  $230;" 
but  the  increasing  need  of  a  building  for  town  meetings  seems  to 
have  had  more  weight  in  arriving  at  final  action,  than  any  recom- 
mendation of  what  ought  to  be. 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  123 

While  reviewing  the  action  of  the  town  on  this  question,  it 
should  be  added  that  repeated  efforts  were  made  to  secure  volun- 
tary subscriptions  as  well  as  a  tax.  In  1797  a  committee  of  three 
was  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and  in  1795,  J.  L.  Arnold,  Joseph 
Lord,  Stephen  Dexter,  John  Ladd  and  Jona.  Adams,  were  made 
a  subscription  paper  committee.  Of  the  result  of  their  efforts  no 
record  is  found. 

At  last,  on  a  warrant  set  up  by  "18  substanshal  Freeholders," 
a  town  meeting:,  held  Sept.  29,  1802,  took  the  following  action 
which  in  due  time  was  carried  out. 

"On  motion,  Voted,  to  Raise  $850  Payable  in  good  wheat  at  the 
market  prise,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  House  for  holding  Town  Meet- 
ings. *  *  On  motion,  Voted,  to  erect  said  House  on  a  certain  Peace  of 
Land  given  by  Lieut.  Thos.  Pierce  for  the  Publict  use  near  his  house  in  said 
Town.  On  motion,  Voted,  to  choose  a  Committee  of  three  to  superintend 
building  said  House,  and  that  Joel  Roberts,  Asquire  Aldrich,  &  Thomas 
Pierce  be  the  committee,  who  accepted  the  appointment.  On  motion,  Voted, 
that  this  Committee  have  Liberty  to  Dispose  of  the  floors  of  said  House  to 
individuals  in  such  a  manner  as  they  in  their  Wisdom  shall  Judge  best,  the 
Availes  of  which  to  be  appropriated  in  order  to  finish  said  house  Sutible  and 
Convenent  to  attend  Publict  Worship  in,  and  for  a  Town  House.  On  motion, 
Voted,  that  the  said  Committee  prosead  as  soon  as  may  bein  the  Line  of  their 
appointment.     On  Motion,  Voted,  to  dissolve  said  meeting." 

Said  Committee  proceeded,  and  on  the  11th  day  of  January 
1803  closed  a  contract  with  Capt.  John  Stiles,  which  is  here  copied 
from  the  original : 

CONTRACT    FOR    BUILDING    THE    MEETING   HOUSE 

"An  agreement  between  Thomas  Pierce  and  Joel  Roberts  on  the  one 
part,  and  John  Stiles  and  Nahum  Stiles  on  the  other  part. 

Agreement  as  follows— That  John  Stiles  and  Nahum  Stiles  do  jointly 
agree  to  frame  a  Meeting  House  and  attend  in  fixing  and  raising  said  House; 
said  House  to  stand  near  Thomas  Pierce's  ;  62  feet  long  and  44  feet  wide;  to 
be  framed  ace.  to  the  plan  which  is  now  presented,  except  some  alterations 
in  the  roof.  The  whole  of  the  work  to  be  done  in  a  good  workmanlike  man- 
ner by  the  first  week  in  July  next,  for  the  sum  of  One  Hundred  and  Eighty 
Dollars  ($180)  to  be  paid  in  wheat  at  cash  price  the  first  day  of  January 
next.  All  the  timber  to  build  said  house  to  be  on  the  spot  by  the  20th  day 
May  next,  so  as  not  to  hinder  said  Stiles  in  framing. 


124  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Said  Stiles  to  be  boarded  at  Mr.  Thomas  Pierce's  and  his  men  that 
work  with  him,  exclusive  of  said  sum.  N.  B.  The  alteration  in  the  roof  to 
be  ace.  to  Mr.  Elijah  Houghton's  plan.  Said  Stiles  agrees  to  weight  till 
the  15th  day  of  the  foresaid  January,  if  not  collected  or  convenient  to  pay 
said  wheat  before,  and  is  to  have  it  at  the  price  it  goes  at  Jan.  1,  1804.  Ten 
gallons  of  Rum  to  be  allowed  said  Stiles.     Exclusive  of  the  above  price." 

Note.  Ten  gallons  of  rum  for  building  a  Meeting  House  in  St.  Johns- 
bury  may  be  considered  a  modest  allowance;  for  a  similar  job  in  Medford  it 
required  five  barrels  of  rum,  one  barrel  of  good  brown  sugar,  a  case  of 
lemons  and  two  loaves  white  sugar.  Medford,  we  infer,  could  afford  to  be 
liberal  with  her  own  peculiar  product. 

On  Sept.  6,  1803  an  additional  $80  was  voted  from  the  town 
treasury,  for  the  said  purpose  of  defraying  the  expense  of 

RAISING   THE    MEETING   HOUSE 

The  Great  Raising  came  off  in  the  summer  of  1804.  The 
timbers  had  been  hauled  on  to  "the  said  Peace  of  Land  for  Pub- 
Hct  use,"  the  high  plateau  a  short  half  mile  west  of  the  Center 
Village,  a  commanding  and  central  location.  To  this  high  place 
everybody  was  flocking,  for  the  event  was  of  more  general  inter- 
est than  any  in  the  previous  history  of  the  town.  All  the 
men  and  boys  of  the  town  were  there  to  put  up  the  timbers,  and 
women  and  girls  to  give  cheer  and  mix  the  toddy.  The  crowning 
event  of  the  day,  as  reported  to  me  by  an  eye  witness,  then  in  his 
ninety-first  year,  was  the  balancing  of  Zibe  Tute  on  his  head  at 
the  end  of  the  ridge  pole,  swallowing  the  contents  of  his  flask, 
and  descending  head  downwards  to  the  ground.  This  was  ac- 
cording to  approved  usage  of  that  period  ;  probably  in  the  mind 
of  Mr.  Z.  Tute,  the  building  was  simply  a  Town  House,  not  yet 
given  over  to  the  purposes  of  religion. 

Presently,  however,  the  floor  of  the  house  62  x  44  feet,  was 
divided  into  51  square  pews,  and  the  galleries  into  25.  These  76 
pews  became  private  property,  bought  at  a  vendue  held  the  pre- 
ceeding  year  Dec.  29,  1803.  The  original  draft  of  this  sale,  in- 
cluding plan  of  pews,  names  and  prices  paid,  was  given  to  the 
writer  40  years  ago  ;  it  is  now  preserved  in  the  Athenaeum.  The 
first  choice,  pew  number  35,  was  struck  off  by  General  Joel 
Roberts,    first    town   representative     at    $135  ;    the    second    at 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  125 

$132,  went  to  Lieut.  Thomas  Pierce  ;  these  were  the  two  front 
pews  on  the  main  aisle  under  the  pulpit.  Capt.  Wm.  C.  Arnold 
and  Capt.  Samuel  Barker  bid  off  the  next  two,  directly  behind 
these,  at  $128  and  $130  each.  The  sale  was  a  success;  all 
but  three  of  the  76  pews  were  bought,  the  lowest  price  paid  being 
$14  for  number  5  on  the  North  Gallery.  The  total  amount 
realized  was  $836,  which  nearly  doubled  the  sum  appropriated  by 
the  town  on  the  original  vote  of  Sept.  1802. 

A    HISTORIC   OLD    BUILDING 

The  first  assembly  that  met  in  this  building  was  the  Free- 
man's meeting  of  Sept.  1804,  tho  the  work  of  construction  was 
not  then  completed.  Sunday  services  of  worship  were  irregular; 
denominations  had  no  exclusive  control ;  the  majority  of  pew 
owners  were  Universalists,  including  most  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  town.  There  was  no  bell  tower,  no  bell,  no  chimney;  the  idea 
of  heating  a  meeting  house  was  as  yet  unborn.  Women  however  ' 
brought  their  foot  stoves  that  were  replenished  with  fresh  coals 
from  the  burning  logs  in  Lieut.  Pierce's  kitchen  fire-place.  The 
big  door  fronted  the  road  on  the  west  side  of  the  building;  the 
pulpit  was  ten  feet  high  up  on  the  east  wall  with  winding  stair- 
way. As  time  went  on  conditions  called  out  the  following  action 
by  the  town  : 

"Voted,  that  Capt.  John  Barney  be  employed  to  keep  the  Meeting  House 
clean,  and  that  he  sweep  it  at  least  twice  during  the  year. 

"Voted,  that  no  person  or  persons  shall  be  allowed  to  enter  the  Pulpit  on 
town  meeting  Days,  unless  speshely  Directed  by  the  Town. 

"Voted,  that  Five  persons  be  appointed  to  Expel  Dogs  from  the  Meeting 
House  on  Sundays,  and  that  they  be  authorized  to  take  such  measures  as  they 
think  proper,  and  that  the  Town  will  indemnify  them  for  so  doing." 

Gen.  Joel  Roberts,  Capt.  John  Barney,  Gen.  R.  W.  Fenton, 
Simeon  Cobb,  Abel  Shorey  were  appointed  Dog  Committee  and 
accepted  the  delicate  responsibilities  of  the  office. 

From  its  high  and  bleak  location,  this  building,  for  more  than 
20  years  the  only  meeting  house  in  the  township,  overlooked  the 
valley  of  the  Passumpsic,  from  Lyndon  Falls  past  the  mouth  of 
Moose  River  and  Arnold's  Mills  to  the  meadows  at  the  mouth  of 


126  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  Sleeper.  On  its  doors  were  posted  public  notifications;  warn- 
ings of  town  meetings,  of  vendues  and  sales;  publications  of 
marriage ;  copies  of  new  laws  or  other  important  announcements. 
Within  its  bare  and  spacious  walls  were  heard  debates  on  all  mat- 
ters of  town  business  and  sermons  by  preachers  of  all  denomina- 
tions. Forty-one  years  it  remained  on  the  original  foundations, 
till  in  1845  it  was  taken  down  and  re-erected  where  it  now  stands 
in  the  Center  Village  ;  the  upper  floor  was  occupied  by  the  First 
Congregational  Church,  the  lower  floor  used  for  town  meetings 
till  the  Court  House  and  Town  Hall  was  erected  in  1856.  For 
some  years  preceeding  its  removal,  religious  services  had  been 
discontinued  in  it,  as  they  were  provided  for  in  other  places. 
Shocks  of  corn  from  surrounding  fields  at  the  harvesting  stood  in 
the  old  square  pews,  and  huskers  made  themselves  comfortable 
in  the  seats  of  former  worshipers.  The  only  relic  of  old  times 
now  remaining  on  the  greensward  of  the  original  site  is  the  pro- 
jecting end  of  a  ledge  which  was  known  as  "Whig  Rock"  when  it 
served  as  a  rostrum  for  political  oratory.  At  the  annual  March 
Town  Meeting,  Lieut.  Pierce  usually  managed  to  have  a  sugaring 
off,  at  which  the  hungry  voters  were  served  with  new  sugar  and 
barley  cakes  at  ninepence  each. 


TOO   POOR   TO   LIVE   WITHOUT   THE    GOSPEL 

Seventeen  years  was  a  long  time  for  a  New  England  com- 
munity to  survive  without  a  place  for  public  worship,  and  five 
years  more  without  an  organized  church.  The  cold  and  colorless 
entries  on  the  town  records,  with  their  repeated  "determined  in 
the  negative,"  seem  to  indicate  that  religious  institutions  were 
not  eagerly  demanded.  But  between  the  lines  we  may  read  that 
some  persons  were  continuously  agitating  the  question;  and  once, 
viz.  in  the  report  of  the  Committee  of  Seven,  July  6,  1798,  a  sen- 
timent, shared  undoubtedly  by  many,  came  to  utterance,  in  the 
words  "that  the  town  ought  to  hire  a  minister."  Perhaps  however 
the  town  was  unconsciouslv  waiting  for  some  organized  Christian 
body  to  lead  off  independently  of  town  action;  and  this  did  not 
come  till  1809. 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  127 

Then,  one  day,  into  the  cold  and  spacious  emptiness  of  the 
town  building  on  its  wind-swept  site  under  the  bleak  November 
sky,  came  six  men  and  thirteen  women  to  be  united  in  the  cove- 
nant of  a  Christian  church.  Few  in  number  and  with  no  exhilara- 
ting prospect,  but  animated  with  firm,  intelligent  and  serious  pur- 
pose. Unquestionably  true  to  the  spirit  of  the  occasion  is  the 
often  quoted  story  that  has  come  down  to  us,  viz :  that  the  Council 
finding  what  a  feeble  flock  they  were,  questioned  the  wisdom  of 
proceeding  to  organize.  "But,"  said  one  of  the  six  men,  "this 
business  must  go  on ;  we  are  too  poor  to  live  without  the  or- 
dinances of  the  gospel." 

Many  will  say  that  this  declaration  deserves  to  be  perpetuated 
as  among  the  cherished  traditions  of  our  town.  It  reflects  withal 
a  state  of  things  in  the  community  which  had  no  minister,  no 
Sabbath,  no  visible  sign  of  any  sort  of  religion.  Here  is  an  illus- 
trative case.  Across  the  street  from  where  the  South  church  now 
stands,  adjoining  "the  little  old  Aunt  Polly  Ferguson  house," 
lived  the  mother  of  a  family.  Anxious  thoughts  were  upon  her 
for  the  welfare  of  the  children.  One  forenoon  while  at  the  house- 
hold work,  her  feelings  swelled  so  strongly  that  she  broke  away 
from  her  task,  saddled  the  family  horse  and  rode  out  some  dis- 
tance beyond  Arnold's  Mills  to  the  home  of  Mary  Bissell.  The 
two  passed  that  day  reading  the  Bible,  talking  and  praying  to- 
gether. Some  three  years  later  when  thirteen  women  were  stand- 
ing together  in  the  covenant  of  the  church,  these  two  were  of  the 
number,  and  their  names  stand  recorded  on  the  first  page  of  the 
old  church  record  book. 

It  was  the  few  women  and  fewer  men  of  this  sort  who  felt 
they  could  not  longer  live  without  the  ordinances  of  the  church, 
and  who  covenanted,  Nov.  21,  1809,  to  do  their  part  in  maintaining 
them.     Their  names  were  : 

Hubbard  Lawrence  David  Stowell  Stephen  Ayer 

Mary  Lawrence  Rebecca  Stowell  Nancy  Ayer 

Mary  Bissell  Andrew  Putnam  Sarah  Ayer 

John  Barker  Lucy  Putnam  Martha  Aldrich 

Ruth  Barker  Rebecca  Houghton  Rebecca  Brown 

Susanna  Mansfield  Aphia  Wright  Susanna  Baldwin 
Samuel  Eaton 


128  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

On  foot  or  on  horseback,  that  day,  they  were  coming  up  from 
their  scattered  farms,  nineteen  only  out  of  some  700  population  ; 
resolute  in  their  determination  to  establish  in  the  town  an  or- 
ganized religious  body  in  covenant  with  God  and  with  each  other; 
but  little  forseeing  that  this  was  the  first  act  in  the  history  of  four 
Congregational  churches  whose  rolls  united  would  number  nigh  a 
thousand  some  future  day. 

EARLY  CHURCH   USAGES  AND  DOINGS 

For  nearly  sixteen  years  the  old  First  Church  was  the  only 
one  organized  in  the  township.  No  historical  survey  of  the  town 
would  be  complete  without  some  notice  of  its  usages  and  doings 
in  the  midst  of  those  years.  The  leading  men  at  the  start  were 
Hubbard  Lawrence,  moderator  and  David  Stowell,  clerk,  both  of 
whom  were  chosen  deacons  ;  men  of  solid  quality  and  honorable 
standing,  tho  not  prominent  in  public  affairs  of  the  town.  Stowell 
was  tall  and  slender,  a  striking  figure  as  he  stood  in  the  aisle,  his 
iron-gray  hair  done  up  in  the  old  fashioned  queue;  his  farm  was 
high  up  on  Bible  Hill,  as  it  came  to  be  called,  and  the  name  still 
survives.  Lawrence  was  a  man  of  business,  a  farmer  by  trade, 
whose  hides  were  strictly  marked  G  and  B  according  to  their 
quality,  whether  good  or  bad  ;  his  vats  were  on  the  sandy  slopes 
which  in  the  next  generation  were  transformed  into  the  park- 
like grounds  of  Pinehurst.  On  these  two  men  fell  the  charge  of 
sustaining  the  public  worship:  for  whether  by  reason  of  poverty, 
or  remoteness,  or  other  cause,  it  was  six  years  before  a  minister 
could  be  had  ;  and,  excepting  the  two  years  of  Mr.  Thurston's 
ministry,  1816-17,  the  church  had  no  pastor  for  the  first  twenty- 
four  years. 

It  does  not  appear  however  that  there  was  any  thought  of 
surrender ;  if  they  were  a  feeble  folk  they  persisted  all  the  same 
in  keeping  alive,  walking  four  and  five  miles  over  rough  roads  to 
have  their  service  of  worship  in  the  great  meeting  house.  Both 
the  Sabbath  and  week-day  meetings  were  regularly  kept  up,  min- 
ister or  no  minister.  Davies'  Sermons  or  Hunter's  scripture  bi- 
ography or  other  appropriate  selections  were  read  from  the  pulpit 
by  the  deacons,  and,  said  one,  who  used  to  listen,  they  bore  the 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  129 

best  of  fruit.  The  quarterly  communion  service  was  reverently 
observed;  Rev.  Leonard  Worcester  coming  down  from  Peacham, 
or  Mr.  Goddard  from  Concord  or  the  stalwart  Scotchman,  Father 
Sutherland  from  Bath,  to  officiate.  Instead  of  dwindling  down, 
drawing  nigh  unto  death,  the  little  flock  made  increase;  by  the 
tenth  year  one  hundred  and  thirteen  had  been  added  to  the  orig- 
inal nineteen,  and  more  than  a  hundred  children  were  memorizing 
Scripture  verses  ;  the  Sunday  school  had  not  yet  arrived. 

CHILDREN   OF   THE    CHURCH 

Particular  attention  was  given  to  Christian  nuture.  The  families 
of  the  church  almost  without  exception  brought  their  children  for- 
mally under  its  covenant  watch-care.  On  the  twelfth  day,  Dec. 
3,  nine  were  brought  forward  for  consecration  to  God  in  baptism, 
one  of  whom  lived  to  ripe  age  and  honored  service  in  the  Congre- 
gational ministry.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  quite  remarkable 
record.  In  the  third  year  twenty-seven,  and  in  the  fifth  year  fifty 
children  were,  as  the  record  says,  "given  up  to  God  in  baptism  ;" 
and  during  the  first  ten  years  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  in  all, 
sixteen  of  whom,  older  ones,  had  been  received  to  church  mem- 
bership. Five  of  one  family  were  brought  the  first  year,  six  of 
one  family  the  second  year,  nine  of  one  family  the  third  year;  dur- 
ing the  first  decade  thirteen  other  families  presented,  each — four, 
five,  six,  seven,  eight  children  in  family  groups.  The  following 
is  a  sample  record  from  the  church  book : 

"Then — Arethusa  Wing,  Suky  Wing,  Betsey  Wing,  Barnabas  Wing, 
Apollos  Wing,  Fanny  Wing,  David  Wing,  Lewis  Wing,  Luthera  Wing,  re- 
ceived the  ordinance  of  baptism."  Sixty  years  later,  this  Luthera  Wing, 
Mrs.  Abel  Shorey,  then  in  her  eighty-fourth  year,  wrote  "You  will  readily 
see  why  I  am  so  much  endeared  to  the  dear  old  church  where  I  was  baptized. 
From  my  earliest  recollection  I  used  to  meet  with  others  weekly  for  recitation 
of  Scripture  and  Catechism.  When  I  review  the  religious  training,  instruc- 
tion and  discipline,  and  the  satisfactions  I  there  received,  my  heart  says, 
praise  the  Lord  that  the  lines  fell  to  me  in  pleasant  and  profitable  places." 

This  touch  of  grateful  remembrance  lets  us  in  to*  the  prevail- 
ing sentiment  of  the  time  ;  the  warmth  of  parental  solicitude,  the 
fellowship  of  kindred  minds  made  the  cold,  gloomy  old  meeting 
house  a  place  of  pleasant  and  hallowed  associations. 


130  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

HOUSEHOLD   RELIGION 

In  the  fifth  year  and  for  several  years  thereafter  the  church 
"met  as  households,  small  and  great,  to  entreat  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham to  be  their  God,  and  to  bless  their  children  forever."  In  a 
letter  from  one  of  those  same  children,  replying  to  my  inquires  in 
1876,  the  writer  says  : 

"1  well  remember  those  days  and  scenes,  especially  the  household  meet- 
ings. On  Saturday  afternoons  we  boys,  your  father  was  one  of  us,  would 
be  at  our  ball  play  on  the  street.  Toward  5  o'clock  our  parents  would  be 
seen  going  toward  someone's  house  for  the  evening  meeting.  We  knew 
what  was  then  to  be  done.  The  play  was  to  stop  and  we  were  to  go  with 
them.  But  this  was  so  in  keeping  with  all  other  arrangements  that  it  be- 
came to  us  a  part  of  the  course  of  things,  easy  because  regular  and  reason- 
able.     *    *    * 

"I  have  never  seen  a  church  that  came  so  near  the  New  Testament 
standard  as  the  early  members  of  that  one  did  in  covenant- watch,  mutual 
helpfulness  and  simple  consecration  to  Christ.  My  father  died  when  I  was 
eight,  and  I  remember  how  much  they  were  to  my  widowed  mother  after 
that  event,  helping  and  comforting  her.  I  left  St.  Johnsbury  at  twelve  years 
of  age,  and  the  night  before  going,  the  neighbors  were  invited  in,  and  in  the 
midst  of  this  circle  of  praying  friends  I  was  committed  to  the  care  of  the 
covenant  keeping  God." 

This  widow  was  the  wife  of  Dea.  Hubbard  Lawrence,  and  the 
boy  of  twelve  years  lived  to  become  widely  known  as  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Edward  A.  Lawrence,  Professor  of  Theology  in  East  Wind- 
sor, now  Hartford  Theological  Seminary.  Ancestral  influence 
went  yet  farther  down  the  line,  to  her  grandson,  Edward  A.  Law- 
rence, D.  D.,  Jr.,  a  man  of  distinguished  usefulness,  "a  leader  of 
men,  magnanimous  and  chivalrous."  The  brilliant  promise  of  his 
life  went  out  suddenly  in  his  early  death  in  1893,  but  not  until  he 
had  left  his  mark  as  a  preacher,  an  author  and  a  citizen,  whose 
name  is  lovingly  perpetuated  in  the  social  settlement  founded  by 
him  in  the  city  of  Baltimore — "The  Lawrence  Home."  Some 
strain  of  spiritual  quality  embodied  in  that  Baltimore  institution 
may  be  traced  back  to  the  true  hearts  and  warm  fellowships  that 
were  keeping  the  little  St.  Johnsbury  church  alive  during  the 
early  years. 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  131 

RIGID    REQUIREMENTS 

An  important  feature  in  the  history  of  the  times  relates  to  the 
prevalent  standards  of  conduct  and  morals.  This  church  found 
itself  facing  a  dominant  and  popular  irreligion  which  had  gone  on 
for  many  years  without  restraint.  To  oppose  this  the  church  must 
have  an  approved  standard  of  its  own  and  strictly  maintain  it ; 
one  result  of  which  was  that  personal  conduct  became,  as  every 
where  in  those  days,  not  wholly  a  matter  of  individual  liberty  but 
of  church  control.  This  accounts  for  the  large  attention  and  mi- 
nute detail  given  to  cases  of  discipline ;  they  were  treated  with 
forbearance  and  brotherly  love,  but  also  with  a  most  serious  pur- 
pose to  correct  whatever  were  held  to  be  misdemeanors.  An 
illustrative  case  occurred  Sept.  19,  when  a  young  member  was  on 
trial  "for  Sabbath-breaking  by  traveling  and  visiting;  for  disre- 
spect and  disobedience  of  his  parents ;  for  conformity  to  the 
world  in  conduct,  conversation  and  dancing ;  for  unreasonably 
correcting  a  lad  who  lived  in  his  father's  house ;  and  for  challeng- 
ing Mr.  Sargent  to  a  fight."  Other  matters  which  the  church  took 
up  for  action  and  discipline  were  intoxication,  betting,  gambling, 
violation  of  the  truth,  unkindness,  taking  unlawful  interest,  ex- 
tortion in  deal,  attempt  to  pass  counterfeit  money. 

THE    SABBATH 

Observance  of  the  Lord's  Day  was  made  very  urgent.  In  all 
the  former  history  of  the  town  there  had  been  no  Sabbath  for 
anything  but  visiting,  traveling,  idling,  or  even  worse,  except  as 
individuals  in  some  quiet  way  kept  the  day  worshipfully.  Now 
the  church  set  itself  to  have  a  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  their  God,  and 
went  so  far  as  to  lay  down  rules  after  the  old  Hebrew  type  which 
condemned  traveling,  going-a-visiting  and  other  things,  "but  if 
traveling  without  baggage  and  public  worship  may  be  attended 
by  pursuing  our  journey  a  few  miles,  something  like  five  or  six, 
then,  if  our  reckoning  be  settled  on  Saturday  evening,  it  shall  be 
justifiable  for  us  to  go  on  for  the  sake  of  joining  a  worshiping  as- 
sembly." To  such  convictions  and  usages  the  church  held  itself 
rigorously,  and  in  the  course  of  time  a  new  day  began  to  dawn  in 
St.  Johnsbury.     In  1818  it  could  be  said  that 


132  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"Sabbath  breaking  is  less  general  than  formerly,  and  those  who  have 
been  inhabitants  from  the  first  settlement  have  seen  many  outbreaking  sins, 
gambling,  drinking  and  profanity,  which  once  were  otir  disgrace  now  for- 
saken or  driven  into  a  corner.  And  such  is  the  public  sentiment  now  that 
our  magistrates  would  refuse  to  recommend  for  license  a  house  that  was 
known  to  be  a  resort  for  tipplers/' 

For  the  changed  conditions  indicated  in  the  above  statement 
the  town  was  indebted  chiefly  to  the  Christian  sentiment  and  in- 
fluence of  the  old  First  Church  in  shaping  public  opinion.  The 
process  was  slow  and  undemonstrative,  but  gradually  the  force  of 
wholesome  example  and  a  right  spirit  won  the  respect  and  assent 
of  the  community. 

PUBLIC    CONFESSIONS 

One  can  not  read  the  early  church  records  without  being  im- 
pressed by  the  spirit  of  sincerity  and  solicitude  with  brotherly 
kindness  then  prevailing,  and  these  left  their  sure  mark  on  that 
generation.  To  illustrate :  A  man  somewhat  prominent  in  the 
town  made  public  confession  before  the  church  of  regret  for  a 
thing  he  had  done,  not  because  he  considered  it  improper,  but 
solely  because  it  had  wounded  the  feelings  of  his  fellow  Chris- 
tians ;  and  this  confession  he  wished  made  known  to  the  world,  also 
his  intention  to  hereafter  avoid  anything  that  would  give  pain  to 
the  feelings  of  others.  Again,  at  one  time,  July  13,  1823,  after 
two  months  serious  preparation,  "the  whole  church  went  forward 
on  the  Sabbath  Day  to  make  their  confession  before  the  world."  They 
publicly  asked  forgiveness  of  all  whom  they  had  offended  ;  with 
sorrow  of  heart  they  confessed  their  faults,  and  forgave  others 
for  their  faults ;  they  solemnly  promised  never  to  allude  to  any 
past  differences,  and  prayed  that  they  might  be  kept  from  wound- 
ing the  feelings  of  others.  This  remarkable  confession  was  not 
only  read  aloud  but  attested  by  the  signatures  of  seventy-two 
members  of  the  church.  It  is  easy  to  believe  that  the  prevalence 
of  such  a  spirit  of  candor  and  considerateness  could  not  fail  to 
impress  the  popular  mind  and  secure  more  wide  and  cordial  ac- 
ceptance of  Christian  principles  in  the  life  of  the  town ;  the 
results  of  which  have  been  manifest  in  all  after  years.     The  in- 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  133 

cident  above  given  assumes  greater  significance  considering  the 
situation  at  the  time.  There  was  no  pastor  and  had  been  none 
for  five  years,  would  be  none  for  ten  years  more.  It  was  the  sim- 
ple, sturdy  manhood  and  devout  womanhood  of  the  church  in  every 
day  contact  with  life  that  gave  it  dignity  and  spiritual  quality  and 
growing  influence  in  the  town. 

INCIDENTS 

Susanna  Mansfield  mistook  Sunday  one  time  for  Saturday  and 
wove  all  day  at  her  loom.  She  wondered  what  was  going  on  as 
she  saw  people  passing  toward  the  center  of  the  town.  The  next 
morning  when  Mrs.  Higgins  called,  she  was  sitting  quietly  by  the 
window,  her  work  all  put  away.  "O,"  she  said,  "what  will  people 
think  of  me  ;  they  must  have  seen  me  at  my  loom  yesterday, 
breaking  the  Sabbath  Day  !"  On  the  contrary  they  would  infer 
that  she  had  missed  a  day  in  the  reckoning,  for  her  principles 
were  well  known.  It  was  at  her  house  that  the  few  Christian 
women  of  the  neighborhood  used  to  meet  for  prayer  meetings. 
Among  them  was  a  woman,  mother  of  eleven  children.  She  did 
her  best  to  bring  them  up  religiously.  Her  husband  was,  at  that 
time,  in  a  mood  of  opposition  to  this.  He  took  occasion  to  hide 
her  Bible.  On  coming  home  one  night  he  saw  a  light  in  the  chil- 
dren's room  and  hastily  concluded  that  she  had  found  it  and  was 
reading  to  the  children.  "He  tore  into  the  room,  pulled  the  chil- 
dren out  of  bed  and  made  a  great  fuss."  But  she  meantime  kept 
quietly  on  her  way  and  by  her  gentleness  and  tact  succeeded  pres- 
ently in  winning  him  to  a  changed  mind  and  better  life. 

Neighborhood  meetings  in  one  of  the  districts  were  held  in  a 
barn.  A  pulpit  was  built  up  with  boxes  on  the  barn  floor.  Mrs. 
Frinda  Graves  said  that  there  when  a  child  she  learned  to  sing 
two  hymns :  "Come,  Holy  Spirit,  Heavenly  Dove"  was  one,  the 
other  was  "Hark,  from  the  tombs  a  doleful  sound."  What  partic- 
ular cheer  and  inspiration  this  last  was  intended  to  awaken  in  the 
old  barn,  she  did  not  say.  But  very  interesting  in  her  remem- 
brance was  the  riding  up  to  the  old  church  on  the  hill  behind  her 
mother  on  the  saddle,  her  Sunday  dress  nicely  tucked  up  so  as 
not  to  get  soiled  or  crumpled.     Other  girls   who   had   to   walk, 


134  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

would  go  barefooted  till  near  the  church  and  then  get  into  their 
shoes. 

On  the  road  lived  Bethiah  Shorey,  who  had  scripture  verses 
neatly  written  out  and  pinned  up  on  the  walls  of  her  house.  When 
a  young  fellow  who  had  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  Army  was 
sick  and  dying,  Bethiah  Shorey  was  the  one  he  sent  for,  to  come 
and  read  and  pray  with  him. 

WEEKLY   OFFERING 

One  man  of  the  old  First  Church  read  I  Corinthians  16  :  2,  as 
for  himself  ;  procured  a  tin  box  and  put  into  it  each  first  day  of 
the  week  the  Lord's  money,  according  as  God  had  prospered  him. 
That  was  the  personal  application  of  Scripture  that  Hubbard  Law- 
rence made  for  himself — more  than  fifty  years  before  the  alleged 
"discovery  of  the  weekly  offering  system,"  now  in  common  use. 

THREE  SHEEP  FOR  PREACHING 

St.  Johnsbury,  7  June,  1826. 
"For  value  received,  I  promise  to  pay  Lewis  Snell,  Isaac  Wing  and 
Ezra  Ide,  Committee  of  the  Congregational  Society  in  the  North  part  of  St. 
Johnsbury,  or  their  successors  in  office— three  midling  likely  Ewe  Sheep  as 
to  age,  size  and  quality,  on  demand  ;  and  I  promise  to  keep  the  said  Three 
Sheep  five  years  free  from  expense  to  said  Society;  and  I  promise  to  pay  the 
Wooll  to  the  Committee  in  June,  and  the  Lambs  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
November  yearly,  the  first  Payment  to  be  made  in  June  and  November  1827 
—all  the  Wooll  and  all  the  Lambs  and  all  the  proffits  ariseing  from  said 
Sheep  is  to  be  laid  out  yearly  for  Congregational  Preaching." 

Calvin  Stone. 

A   PIOUS  OLD  HORSE 

Old  Whitey,  the  family  horse  of  Hubbard  Lawrence,  went 
regularly  every  Sabbath  day  up  to  the  Meeting  House  three  miles 
away  to  carry  that  family  and  as  many  others  as  could  be  stowed 
into  the  great  pung  sleigh,  together  with  the  foot  stoves  carrying 
hot  coals  in  cold  weather.  One  day  the  deacon  was  sick  and  the 
family  remained  in  the  house.  "But  at  the  proper  time  the  pious 
old  horse  seeing  other  horses  going  by  on  the  way  to  church, 
leaped  the  fence  and  gravely  trotted  after  them,  taking  his  usual 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  135 

place  in  the  shed  till  the  services   were    over,    when   he    gravely 
trotted  back  again,  an  edifying  example  to  non-church  goers." 

THE    UNIVERSALIST   SOCIETY 

A  constitution  for  the  Universalist  Society  of  St.  Johnsbury 
was  drawn  up  under  date  of  Sept.  3,  1813,  to  which  the  names  of 
210  men  of  the  town  stand  appended  on  the  Record  book.  It 
reads  as  follows: 

"We  whose  names  are  hereafter  subscribed,  being  encouraged  by  the 
Holy  Bible,  prompted  by  Reason,  Judgement  and  the  love  of  Order,  being 
fully  satisfied  that  well  established  and  well  regulated  Religious  Societies  are 
of  the  highest  importance  in  Communities  as  well  as  to  individuals,  and 
have  a  natural  tendancy  to  promote  Piety,  Morality,  and  Virtue,  and  to  ex- 
cite a  spirit  of  Brotherly  Love  ;  we  do  therefore  for  the  above  named  laud- 
able purposes  hereby  enter  in  to  Social  Compact  and  Covenant 
to  and  with  each  other  to  form  ourselves  in  to  a  Society  by  the  name  of  the 
Universalist  Society  of  St.  Johnsbury,  and  do  mutually  pledge  ourselves  to 
each  other  to  conform  to  and  be  governed  by  the  following  articles. 

1.  There  shall  be  a  meeting  of  the  Society  on  the  first  of  October  at 
which  all  necessary  officers  for  year  ensuing  shall  be  chosen. 

2.  Persons  of  any  religious  denomination  may  be  admitted  as  mem- 
bers, they  complying  with  the  regulations  of  the  Society. 

3.  All  persons  may  have  the  privilege  of  hearing  preaching  in  the 
Society,  but  none  unless  persons  of  good  moral  character  shall  be  admitted 
to  full  fellowship. 

4.  Any  member  of  the  Society  who  shall  be  guilty  of  base  and  immoral 
conduct,  shall  be  liable  to  reprimand  and  expulsion;  but  no  member  shall  be 
expelled  unless  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  Society  present  at  the  meeting 
called  with  the  knowledge  of  the  member  so  to  be  dealt  with,  if  living  in  the 
vicinity. 

5.  The  proceedings  of  the  Society  shall  be  recorded,  each  member  hav- 
ing the  privilege  of  perusing  the  records.  Any  member  may  withdraw  him- 
self from  the  Society  at  the  annual  meeting. 

6.  The  foregoing  articles  shall  be  subject  to  amendment,  revision  or 
alteration  at  any  annual  meeting  by  vote  of  a  majority  of  those  present. 

The  names  set  to  this  Constitution  do  not  appear  in  auto- 
graph, but  as  entered  by  the  hand  of  the  Secretary.  They  include 
a  large  number  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  town,  as  may  be 
seen  by  these  names  taken  from  the  list — Joel  Roberts,  Thomas 
Pierce,  David  Goss,  Martin  Wheeler,  Ariel  Aldrich,  R.    W.  Fen- 


136  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ton,  John  Barney,  John  Armington,  Reuben  Spaulding,  Gardner 
Wheeler,  Abel  Butler,  Nahum  Stiles,  Elkanah  Cobb,  Walter 
Wright,  Jubal  Harrington,  Stephen  Hawkins,  Charles  Stark, 
Phineas  Page,  Jonas  Flint,  Lemuel  Hastings,  Nathaniel  Stevens, 
Enoch  Wing,  and  187  more,  a  notably  strong  body  of  men,  with 
large  possibilities  of  influence  in  the  town. 

From  the  fact  that  the  first  entry  on  the  book  of  records, 
Oct.  12,  1825,  is  twelve  years  after  the  date  of  the  Constitution, 
it  may  be  inferred  that  there  was  an  earlier  book  now  lost.  It 
does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  church  organized.  Little  in- 
formation is  found  on  the  records;  they  are  mainly  the  brief 
minutes  of  the  annual  meetings,  recording  the  choice  of  officers 
for  the  year.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  material  on  record 
for  historical  mention  is  so  scant.  Now  and  then  there  is  an 
item  about  the  minister;  Rev.  Hollis  Sampson  is  the  first  one 
named;  Rev.  Mr.  Vose,  another.  In  Oct.  1827,  it  was  voted  to 
pay  Jonas  Flint  two  and  a  half  bushels  of  wheat  for  going  to 
Haverhill  after  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright.  Preaching  services  were 
held,  alternately  with  the  Congregationalists,  at  the  old  Meeting 
House  on  the  Hill,  in  which  house  the  members  of  this  Society 
held  the  first  choices  and  largest  number  of  pews.  The  early 
records  of  the  old  First  Church  and  of  the  Universalist  Society  are 
now  preserved  at  the  Athenaeum. 

UNIVERSALIST   MEETING   HOUSE 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  October  1837  a  proposition  to  build 
a  Universalist  Church  at  the  Center  Village  was  successfully  car- 
ried. Subscriptions  amounting  to  $1062  were  made;  the  larger 
subscribers  were  Abel  Butler  and  Ira  Armington,  $125  each,  the 
smallest  were  $5  by  several  men.  It  was  therefore  "voted  to  build 
a  meeting  house  to  cost  from  ten  to  twelve  hundred  dollars,  of 
wood  and  good  materials,  finished  in  good  stile,  and  with  a  belfry 
sufficient  to  hang  a  bell  of  the  heft  of  1000  pounds;  the  avails  of 
the  pews  to  be  given  quarterly  for  preaching."  A  vendue  of  the  pews 
was  held  October  6,  1838,  at  which  time  the  first  choice  was 
bid  off  by  Thomas  Pierce  for  $10;  the  second,  third,  fourth,  and 
fifth  by  John  Armington,  Jonas  Flint,  David  Goss  and  Abel  Butler 


RELATING  TO  RELIGION  137 

at  $8.50  each;  total  sales  of  pews  $285.87.  The  building  was  erect- 
ed in  1843,  standing  at  the  north  west  corner  of  the  Center  Village 
burial  ground,  where  it  remained  till  destroyed  by  fire  in  July 
1876.  The  first  recorded  meeting  in  this  house  was  May  13,  1843. 
At  this  time  Rev.  B.  M.  Tillotson  was  minister;  he  afterward  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Abel  Butler — in  1873  he  secured  the  build- 
ing of  the  Universalist  Church  on  Eastern  Avenue  and  was  min- 
ister there  for  thirteen  years. 

The  new  belfry  soon  received  its  furnishment  of  a  bell,  more 
or  less  "of  the  heft  of  a  thousand  pounds."  On  the  27th  January 
1844,  Jonas  Flint  and  Thomas  Pierce  were  made  a  committee  to 
see  to  the  ringing  of  the  bell.  This  bell  had  a  useful  life  of  33 
years  until  it  was  fused  in  the  fire  of  1876  which  destroyed 
the  building  and  all  appertaining  to  it. 

This  Universalist  Meeting  House  was  in  frequent  use  for  pa- 
triotic and  temperance  meetings.  It  also  had  the  distinction  in 
1846  of  the  first  public  observance  of  Christmas  held  in  St.  Johns- 
bury.  This  was  long  before  such  a  thing  as  the  Christmas  Tree 
had  been  heard  of  in  this  part  of  the  world.  But  for  the  purpose 
of  decoration  fir  trees  were  planted  in  each  corner  of  the  house 
and  in  the  top  of  one  them  was  tethered  a  white  dove  which  sat 
quietly  perched  on  its  green  bough  as  if  conscious  of  being  the 
symbol  of  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  among  men. 

Note.  The  first  appearance  of  the  "Christmas  Tree"  as  such,  in  the  town 
was  in  the  auditorium  of  the  South  Church  on  Christmas  Eve  of  1863.  Two  fir 
trees  fifteen  feet  in  height  were  erected  on  the  platform;  these  were  suitably  dec- 
orated and  loaded  with  gifts  for  the  Sunday  School,  under  direction  of  Supt. 
Ephraim  Jewett,  who  had  made  a  trip  to  Boston  to  obtain  the  most  approved 
equipments.  There  was  something  for  everybody,  including  copies  of  Mother 
Goose  Melodies  for  Principal  Colby,  Judge  Jonathan  Ross  and  other  grown 
up  boys.  The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  this  occasion  was  observed  in  the  same 
place  in  a  graceful  and  dignified  manner;  the  illumination  was  from  colored 
electric  lights  which  flashed  from  the  shapely  spruce  tree  rising  some  twenty 
feet  from  the  floor. 


XI 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES 


"And  by  these  Industryes  they  do  most  depely  vnderstand  in  al  affayres 
how  sonest  to  exployte  them."  Tyndale. 


SPINNING  WHEEL  AND  LOOM — 27,733  YARDS — HATS — BRICK  IN 
1812 — POTASH — SUNDRY  SMALL  INDUSTRIES — ARNOLD  FALLS 
— RAMSEY'S  MILLS — PADDOCK  IRON  WORKS — MOOSE  RIVER 
POWERS — MILLS   AT   THE     CENTER — THE     FAIRBANKS   MILLS — 

WARNED   OUT FIREPLACE    TO   COOK   STOVE — HEMP     WORKS — 

THE   OLD    COUNTING   ROOM. 


The  very  earliest  industries  were  as  a  matter  of  course  clear- 
ing the  forest,  log-house  building,  cooking  the  family  mess.  This 
last  was  done  in  a  big  iron  kettle  swinging  on  a  crane  over  the 
open  fire.  A  woman  in  her  ninety-first  year  told  me  how  she  used 
to  start  early  in  the  morning,  get  breakfast  for  the  men  folks,  do 
up  the  morning  work,  go  out  with  her  axe  and  chop  trees  till 
about  11  o'clock,  then  in  again  to  get  dinner  for  the  family.  What 
diversions  filled  the  rest  of  the  day,  I  neglected  to  ask;  hoeing 
potatoes  perhaps  or  knitting  footings,  or  slicking  up  the  premises. 
Apparently  her  pioneer  occupations  promoted  longevity  and  stored 
up  pleasing  recollections  for  future  years. 

Spinning  and  Weaving.  These  were  necessary  accom- 
plishments in  the  department  of  woman's  industry.  As  soon  as 
wool  and  flax  could  be  raised  on  the  clearings  the  spinning  wheel 
was  started  and  later  the  loom,  and  all  the  clothing  of  the  settle- 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  139 

ment  was  of  homespun  made  in  the  family  kitchens.  After  1800 
nearly  every  well  to  do  family  would  have  either  wheel  or  loom 
or  both,  the  girls  became  skilled  spinners  and  the  mothers 
wrought  firmly  woven  fabrics  on  their  heavy  looms. 

An  average  day's  work  would  be  to  card  and  spin  four  skeins 
of  seven  knots  each,  forty  threads  to  a  knot,  two  yards  in  length. 
Flax  spun  on  the  little  wheel  would  be  two  double  skeins  of  four- 
teen knots  each.  When  enough  was  spun  for  a  web  of  twenty 
yards  it  was  boiled  out  in  ashes  and  water  and  well  washed;  then 
spooled  and  warped  ready  to  weave  into  cloth,  for  various  gar- 
ments. Table  cloths  and  towels  were  woven  in  figures,  dress 
goods  from  flax,  colored  and  woven  in  checks. 

The  volume  to  which  this  family  industry  attained  is  express- 
ed in  the  returns  given  for  the  year  1810.  During  that  year  the 
women  of  St.  Johnsbury  turned  off  from  their  looms  16,505  yards 
of  linen  cloth,  9,431  yards  of  woolen,  1,797  yards  of  cotton  cloth. 
A  total  of  27,733  yards.  During  the  decade  1800-1810,  Vermont 
is  reported  to  have  exceeded  every  other  state  of  the  Union  in 
the  amount  of  hand  made  household  products. 

Carding,  Dyeing,  Cloth-dressing.  At  first  these  processes 
were  all  carried  on  in  the  home  with  simple  hand  instruments  and 
common  dye  stuffs.  Twenty-nine  different  materials  for  dyeing 
are  noted  in  1831.  By  combining  various  sorts  of  barks  and  herbs 
such  as  butternut,  sumach,  smart-weed,  etc.,  with  chemicals,  the 
house-wife  managed  to  get  any  desired  shade  or  color,  and  the 
dye  pot  with  tight  fitting  cover  sitting  near  the  fire  place  was  an 
important  article  of  kitchen  furniture,  a  handy  little  seat  withal 
for  the  youngsters.  Patterns  were  mostly  in  checks  or  stripes  ; 
a  standard  product  was  the  blue  and  white  frocking,  furnishing 
material  for  the  long  loose  frock  that  hung  in  comfortable  folds 
from  the  shoulders  of  the  men. 

After  some  years  mills  began  to  be  set  up  in  different 
parts  of  the  town.  Percival  dressed  cloth  in  a  mill  below  Fair- 
banks Village ;  there  was  another  mill  at  Goss  Hollow;  Kimball 
and  Stoughton  had  clothier's  mills  at  the  Center  Village  in  1825  ; 
wool  carding  was  done  by  Silas  Hibbard  at  the  East  Village  1830, 
for  $3  per  cwt.  or  four  cents  per  pound  cash  down,   six  cents  in 


140  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

grain  the  next  winter.  Many  of  the  women  however  continued 
to  manufacture  their  own  cloth.  One  of  the  cloth  dressers  gave 
out  a  bit  of  advice  to  the  women  about  their  spinning  : 

"You  will  do  well  to  have  the  filling  spun  one  skein  coarser  to  the  pound 
than  the  warp ;  back-banded,  slack  twisted  and  wove  in  the  grease.  Then 
if  brought  to  me,  it  shall  not  only  be  handsome  when  it  goes  from  my 
hands,  but  it  will  wear  as  handsome  as  any  English  cloth." 

This  was  said  in  the  Farmer's  Herald  of  July  28,  1830.  Two 
weeks  later  another  clothier  announced  that 

"one  skein  coarser  in  pound  is  too  much  ;  you  will  do  well  to  spin  it  about 
one  knot  in  twelve  coarser.  Also  it  should  not  be  wove  in  the  grease,  unless 
you  have  a  power  loom  with  spring  shuttle  ;  for  with  common  looms  it  will 
be  difficult  to  close  the  threads  sufficiently  not  to  become  very  narrow  in  the 
filling.  I  will  say  to  the  ladies  that  they  will  do  well  to  follow  their  own 
good  judgment  guided  by  experience  rather  than  the  suggestion  in  the 
Herald  of  two  weeks  ago." 

With  the  two  foregoing  pieces  of  wisdom  and  advice  should 
be  quoted  a  third  which  appeared  about  the  same  time  : 

"Ye  Carders  and  Spinners  and  Weavers,  attend  ! 
And  take  the  advice  of  Poor  Richard  your  friend  ; 
Stick  close  to  your  looms  and  your  wheels  and  your  card, 
And  you'll  need  have  no  fear  of  the  times  being  hard." 

Also 

"Ye  Hatters,  who  oft  with  hands  not  very  fair 
Fix  hats  on  a  block  for  a  blockhead  to  wear!" 

St.  Johnsbury  had  two  hatters :  Stiles  the  hatter  who  blocked 
out  hats  at  South  end  of  the  Plain,  and  Groom  the  hatter  on  the 
west  side  of  the  street  farther  up.  They  made  napthats  of  approved 
and  fashionable  style,  using  felts  prepared  from  lamb's  wool  and 
other  furs. 

Straw  hats  were  braided  by  the  women  in  their  homes;  the 
art  of  braiding  was  not  difficult,  but  the  process  of  shaping  the 
crown  so  as  to  bring  out  a  good  looking  hat  required  some  skill 
and  experience. 

BRICK  MAKING  IN  1812 

"Samuel  French  was  the  first  man  'to  start  a  Brick  Yard  in  the  Center 
of  the'town,  which  was  very  different  from  the  way  now.       In  the  first  place 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  141 

a  spot  was  made  level  and  smooth,  then  two  thicknesses  of  Boards  so  as  to 
break  joints  and  then  boards  or  plank  were  set  up  edgeways  and  fastened 
there.  The  bin  was  about  14  to  16  feet  long  and  7  to  8  feet  wide.  Then  clay 
and  sand  were  put  in  what  they  wanted  for  a  batch  and  water  what  was 
needed.  Then  the  grinding  Proces  began  which  was  quite  different  from 
now  a  days.  They  put  in  from  one  yoke  to  2  yoke  of  oxen  yoked  up  and  a 
man  to  drive  them  around  till  all  was  jamed  fine  enough  to  work  for  the 
mould.  The  striker  had  a  table  for  his  mould  and  then  he  had  another  table 
for  the  morta;  and  then  taken  off  enought  for  a  Brick  and  put  in  to  a  mold 
and  pressed  with  the  hand  in  to  the  mold  one  at  a  time,  and  so  on  till  the 
molds  were  filled,  and  with  a  straight  edge  scraped  over  the  whole  and  then 
carried  away  on  to  the  yard  to  dry,  when  dry,  burnt  as  usual,  a  great  con- 
trast then  and  now."     H.  N.  R. 

Ashes  and  Potasheries  From  the  earliest  settlement  the 
making  of  potash  and  pearlash  was  carried  on  and  it  came  to  be 
an  important  industry.  The  hard  woods  of  the  forest  yielded  val- 
uable ashes;  these  were  leached  and  boiled  down  into  potash,  then 
still  further  refined  into  pearlash.  At  first,  before  barrels  were 
plenty,  a  section  from  a  hollow  tree  trunk  was  set  up  for  a  leach ; 
the  lye  obtained  from  this  was  boiled  down  in  small  kettles,  and 
the  resulting  salts  of  lye  would  bring  from  three  to  four  dollars 
per  hundred  weight. 

In  process  of  time  asheries  or  potasheries  were  built  for 
carrying  on  the  process  more  extensively.  There  were  several 
in  this  town.  "Phelps*  Potash"  was  near  the  head  of  the  Plain; 
another  operated  by  John  and  Luther  Clark  was  in  the  gulley 
where  Church  street  now  comes  in  to  Main.  This  building  was 
set  against  the  bank  so  that  ashes  could  be  unloaded  from  the 
road  into  a  window  under  the  ridge  pole.  To  this  place  ashes 
were  brought  from  all  the  surrounding  country ;  as  often  as  once 
a  week  a  load  was  hauled  in  from  Lunenburg.  The  ashes  mixed 
with  quick  lime  were  put  into  large  casks,  covered  with  water, 
stirred  thoroughly  and  left  to  settle.  A  day  or  two  later  the  clear 
liquor  was  drawn  off  and  evaporated ;  the  residue  was  salts  of  lye 
or  potash.  To  form  pearlash  this  was  again  dissolved  in  water 
and  filtered  thro  straw  in  a  barrel.  After  evaporation  it  was 
stirred  so  as  to  break  up  in  to  small  lumpy  bits  of  a  pearl  white 
color ;  this  contained  about  fifty  per  cent  of  pure  potassa.  For 
many  years  the  products  of  these  asheries  were  a  principal  article 


142  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

for  barter  ;  in  fact  ashes  alone  were  always  in  demand.  In  1830, 
Clarks  and  Bishop  on  the  Plain  kept  out  a  standing  call  for  10,000 
bushels  of  ashes  ;  much  of  the  trade  at  their  store  was  with  ashes 
instead  of  money.  At  that  time  it  was  not  doubted  that  "Ver- 
mont would  supply  wood  for  centuries  to  come,  and  the  pearlash 
manufacture  be  here  carried  on  with  greatest  perfection  and 
profit" — as  quoted  by  Theodore  N.  Vail. 

Starch.  Extensive  starch  factories  were  set  up  at  the  East 
and  Center  Village  water  powers.  Loads  of  potatoes  brought  in 
from  the  farms  were  dumped  into  capacious  troughs  where  they 
were  washed,  after  which  they  were  run  thro  the  grinding  ma- 
chine, then  strained  and  put  in  to  vats  to  settle.  After  the  water 
had  been  drawn  off  the  pulpy  starch  was  spread  on  the  drying 
racks,  and  when  sufficiently  hard  and  dry  was  broken  in  to  lumps 
suitable  for  use. 

Soap.  In  almost  any  back  yard  might  be  seen  in  early 
spring  the  old-time  leach,  originally  a  section  cut  from  some  hol- 
low tree  trunk,  later  a  stout  barrel,  filled  with  ashes,  on  a  sloping 
seat.  From  this  the  lye  was  drained  off  and  poured  in  to  the 
great  iron  kettle  together  with  the  year's  accumulations  of  grease. 
The  process  of  boiling,  stirring  and  skimming  was  a  long  one 
carefully  attended  to  by  the  thrifty  housewife ;  the  product  ob- 
tained was  a  strong,  vicious,  grayish  brown  soft  soap,  vigorous 
and  effective  in  the  warfare  for  cleanliness.  This  constituted  the 
annual  family  supply  of  soap  for  ordinary  purposes  ;  it  was  stored  in 
large  barrels  with  a  square  hole  in  the  head,  of  a  size  sufficient  to 
admit  the  long  handled  dipper — also  the  family  cat  that  one  day 
pushed  her  investigations  a  bit  too  far,  a  sorry  cat  when  fished 
out. 

Shave  Horse  Products.  "What  is  that  ?"  is  the  question 
not  infrequently  asked,  even  by  adults  of  the  present  generation, 
on  seeing  a  survivor  of  the  old  shave  horse  troop.  It  used  to  be 
part  of  the  necessary  equipment ;  many  were  the  articles  and  im- 
plements made  with  the  draw  shave  on  this  queer  and  handy  little 
horse.  Nearly  all  the  wood  work  and  some  of  the  iron  work  of 
ordinary  tools  was  hand  made.     Hoes  and  pitch  forks  were  ham- 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  143 

mered  out  on  the  anvil,  and  Tom  and  Bill  shaved  the  handles  and 
fitted  them  in  to  the  circular  necks.  Axes,  scythes  and  sickles 
were  imported  from  down  below,  but  the  helves  and  snaths  were 
either  made  or  replaced  on  the  shave  horse,  the  snath  of  the  pe- 
riod being  nearly  as  straight  as  a  rake  stale.  The  common  shovel 
was  of  wood  with  a  T  piece  on  the  handle  and  the  cutting  edge 
shod  with  a  piece  of  iron.  Boys  shaved  out  the  different  parts  of 
their  sleds  or  pungs,  which  like  the  great  ox  sleds,  also  home 
made,  were  jointed  together  with  wooden  pins. 

The  constant  handling  of  ashes,  starch  and  potash,  also  soap 
and  sugar  making,  required  receptacles,  and  coopering  became  an 
important  industry.  Staves  and  hoops  for  hundreds  of  buckets, 
pails,  tubs  and  barrels  were  shaved  out  in  different  parts  of  the 
town.  Iron  not  being  obtainable,  both  hoops  and  handles  were 
made  of  elastic  wood.  A  style  of  bucket  not  often  seen  nowadays 
was  the  piggin,  on  which  one  stave  projected  above  the  rim  to 
serve  as  a  handle.  "I  made  a  piggin,"  is  the  entry  on  a  farm 
journal  of  the  Moose  River  region,  Aug.  22,  1832.  The  piggin 
had  no  relationship  to  a  domestic  animal  other  than  as  a  recep- 
tacle for  conveying  nourishment  to  his  trough  ;  its  original  is  the 
Gaellic  word  pigean,  a  pot  or  jar. 

Leather.  On  the  Plain,  prior  to  1810,  the  Hubbard  Law- 
rence tannery  diversified  the  grounds  now  known  as  Pinehurst. 
Here  the  scrupulously  honest  Deacon  manufactured  leathers,  the 
differing  grades  of  which  he  had  a  way  of  marking  with  the  initial 
letters  of  good  and  bad.  When  a  curious  person  one  day  interrogated 
him  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  G  he  replied  that  that  marked  a  piece 
of  leather  that  was  good.  What  then  is  the  B  for?  was  the  next 
question.  B  we'll  call  better,  said  the  tanner,  with  a  twinkle  that 
gave  the  questioner  the  reverse  meaning.  This  tannery  continued 
in  operation  till  about  1830. 

Up  to  that  time  and  later  raw  leather  was  an  indispensable 
commodity  in  the  community.  There  was  no  ready  made  foot 
gear.  The  traveling  cobbler  came  along,  as  the  umbrella  tinker 
now  does,  with  his  kit,  and  established  himself  in  the  kitchen, 
where  he  made  up  the  family  stock  of  boots  for  the  year.  For 
men  and  boys  he  made  the  long  legged  boots,  and  for  feminine 


144  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

use  whatever  might  be  wanted.  Sometimes  he  would  find  a  shoe 
bench  on  the  premises.  Increasing  population  called  for  a 
shoemaker  to  set  up  shop  and  this  with  saddlery  and  harness 
making  kept  the  tanners  busy  converting  hides  in  to  leather  for  ra 
good  many  years. 

The  most  important  tannery  in  town  was  at  the  Center  Vil- 
lage opposite  the  upper  bridge  :  this  was  built  by  Isaac  Harrington 
in  1810.  Horace  Hutchinson  was  the  first  tanner,  afterward  Gris- 
wold  who  at  a  later  date  set  up  a  tannery  in  the  East  Village.  In 
1853  John  Bacon  2d  bought  the  Center  tannery  ;  for  43  years  it 
was  successfully  operated  by  himself  and  his  son,  Delos  M. 
Bacon,  who  carried  it  on  from  1876  to  1896.  The  great  wheel  of 
this  tannery,  mounted  about  1830,  survived  until  recent  years  as  a 
picturesque  relic  on  the  hillside,  very  noticeable  from  the  west 
end  of  the  bridge.  It  was  an  undershot  wheel  12  feet  in  diameter 
with  a  rim  18  inches  wide  on  which  were  set  pockets  for  catching 
the  water  as  it  came  down  from  the  brook. 

Pottery.  An  old-time  land  mark  with  low  red  buildings 
west  of  the  river  half  a  mile  south  of  the  Center  Village,  was  the 
Pottery  established  in  1808  by  Gen.  R.  W.  Fenton,  somewhile 
known  as  the  St.  Johnsbury  Stone  Ware  Pottery.  Its  products 
were  in  constant  demand  until  the  introduction  of  tinware.  The 
business  was  successfully  carried  on  by  Gen.  Fenton  and  by  his 
son  Leander  until  the  entire  establishment  went  down  in  flames 
November,  1859.  All  sorts  of  domestic  ware  were  turned  out  on 
those  potters'  wheels,  from  jugs,  jars,  bowls,  bottles  and  milk 
pans,  at  a  dollar  a  dozen,  to  fancy  flower  pots  at  sixty  cents  each, 
and  St.  Johnsbury  pottery  gained  high  repute  ;  occasionally  sur- 
viving specimens  of  it  may  still  be  seen.  The  power  was  supplied 
by  a  merry  little  brook  that  came  tumbling  down  the  hillside. 

Clover  Seed.  During  the  twenties  a  brisk  business  in 
clover  seed  sprang  up.  In  August  of  the  second  year,  when  the 
seed  was  ripe  it  was  cut  with  a  scythe,  dried  and  bundled,  spread 
out  on  the  barn  floor,  where  the  seed  was  trodden  out.  It  was 
shoveled  thro  an  upright  screen  and  then  put  into  a  barrel  rigged 
with  a  sweep  which  was  carried  around  by  the  horse.     The  seed 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  145 

worked  its  way  below  the  chaff  and  as  it  came  out  at  the  bottom 
was  hulled  and  further  cleared  by  fans.  This  was  the  process  on 
the  farms,  but  after  a  time  clover  mills  with  hullers  and  fans  were 
built  and  run  by  water  power.  One  of  these  was  put  up  and  oper- 
ated by  E.  &  T.  Fairbanks  at  the  Sleeper  River  Falls  south  of  the 
Plain.  This  mill  was  sold  in  1828  to  Maj.  Abel  Rice,  proprietor 
of  the  hotel.  Ten  tons  of  clover  seed  were  called  for  at  one  time 
by  Clarks  and  Bishop  ;  it  was  used  for  barter  by  the  farmers  ;  the 
price  in  1837  was  eleven  cents  a  bushel.  Eastern  Vermont  did  a 
large  business  in  this  clover  seed  for  many  years ;  in  1850  Cale- 
donia County  produced  179  bushels,  during  which  year  Chittenden 
raised  two  bushels,  Rutland  one  and  Bennington  none. 

Hair  Combs.  Porter  Gibson  carried  on  his  comb  making  at 
the  south  end  of  the  Plain  in  a  little  house,  the  original  of  No.  2 
Main  street.  The  farmers  brought  their  cattle  horns  to  Gibson  ; 
he  subjected  them  to  steam  heat,  cut  and  pressed  them  in  to  thin 
flat  sheets,  sawed  out  a  disk  of  proper  size  and  shape,  the  edges  of 
which  he  skilfully  shoved  up  under  his  fine  saw  which  cut  out  the 
spaces  leaving  a  series  of  teeth,  and — there  was  your  comb. 

Opposite  the  comb  works  was  the  Bookbindery,  where  T.  G. 
Rice  rebound  worn  out  Bibles  and  Testaments  ;  up  near  the  post- 
office  was  the  upstairs  room  where  Parks  and  Paddock  built 
organs ;  near  the  meeting  house  was  the  work  shop  of  Francis 
Bingham  who  turned  out  side-boards,  secretaries,  sofas,  French 
bedsteads  and  Grecian  card  tables ;  Hezekiah  Martin  near  by,  and 
Clark  Brothers  across  the  street,  made  saddles,  harness,  trunks 
and  post  bags.  In  Paddock  Village  was  Lindorf  Morris'  sash, 
blind  and  door  factory,  Ramsey's  spinning  wheel  works  and  Jo- 
seph Hancock's  shop  for  nice  work  in  pine,  birch,  maple  and 
mahogany.  Good  cabinet  work  was  done  at  the  Center  Village 
by  Freeman  Loring  and  Ira  Armington,  and  Cotton  G.  Dickinson 
of  the  sturdy  stock  of  famous  Cotton  Mather,  did  high  class  work 
on  his  anvil,  from  fitting  shoes  on  oxen  to  making  wrought  iron 
implements  for  farm  and  household  use. 


146  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ARNOLD    FALLS      RAMSEY'S  MILLS 

"What,  Man!  more  water  glideth  by  the  mill 
Than  wots  the  miller  of." 

The  water  power  that  runs  our  village  water  works  in  Pad- 
dock Village  was  originally  known  as  Arnold  Falls.  This  was 
the  first  water  in  the  town  that  was  utilized.  Dr.  Arnold,  whose 
property  it  was,  set  up  his  saw  mill  there  in  1787,  and  a  grist  mill 
the  next  year.  Capt.  Arnold  the  miller,  brother  of  Jonathan,  an 
old  sea  captain,  ran  the  grist  mill.  David  Bowen  was  the  next 
miller.  He  built  and  lived  in  a  rude  hut  which  was  the  first  habi- 
tation there.  After  the  death  of  the  Arnolds  business  declined  at 
these  mills ;  different  parties  rented  the  property,  which  still  went 
by  the  name  of  Arnold  Mills  as  late  as  1810. 

After  a  time,  1817,  Capt.  James  Ramsey  came  along  and  took 
the  grist  mill.  He  added  to  it  a  small  building  into  which  he 
moved  his  family  and  there  set  up  a  carding  machine  ;  the  old 
Bowen  hut  was  at  this  time  uninhabitable.  In  1820  Ramsey  and 
Allen  Kent  put  up  a  new  saw  mill  at  the  Falls.  Two  or  three 
years  later  Hiram  Jones  and  Sargent  Bagley  bought  this  mill  and 
built  beside  it  a  carpenter  shop.  These  men  built  dwelling  houses 
near  by,  and  from  this  time  the  place  began  to  be  called  Ramsey's 
Mills,  tho  as  late  as  the  year  1830  we  find  reference  made  to  "the 
Celebrated  Water  Fall  on  Passumpsic  River  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Arnold  Privilege." 

A  reminiscence  of  these  men  was  given  years  after  by  one 
who  knew  them  when  he  was  a  boy  : — 

"Ramsey  was  a  character,  a  large,  bony  Scotchman,  with  a  fund  of  droll 
stories  which  he  delighted  to  tell  to  the  neighbors  and  over  which  he  would 
shake  with  honest  laughter.  Jones  was  a  little  man,  industrious,  taciturn 
and  obsequious,  under  a  very  rigorous  conjugal  regime.  Bagley  was  a  tall, 
stately  man,  solemn  and  monotonous,  a  consistent  and  rigid  member  of  the 
church.  His  wife— a  mild,  tidy  woman,  with  a  lace  cap  and  an  immaculate 
linen  kerchief  over  her  shoulders — dear  blessed  woman,  how  we  boys  rever- 
enced and  loved  her." 

Capt.  Ramsey  as  time  went  on  built  a  new  house.  He  be- 
came a  stiff  anti-slavery  man  and  his  house  was  one  of  the  under- 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  147 

ground  railway  stations,  so  called,  where  runaway  slaves  were 
taken  in  and  helped  on  their  way  to  Canada.  This  house  is  still 
standing,  the  low  brick  house  painted  gray- white  a  few  rods  south 
of  the  bridge.  Ramsey  also  became  a  spinning  wheel  manufac- 
turer; his  wheels  for  spinning  domestic  flax  were  considered  a 
superior  product ;  with  oil-stained  red  rims  and  cranks  and 
spindles  of  best  hard  Swede  stock.  His  sons,  John,  Charles  and 
William,  were  well  known  here  in  later  years.  Lieut.  John  Ram- 
sey, a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  Third  Vt.  Regiment,  fell  pierced 
by  four  musket  balls  at  the  battle  of  Savage  Station,  Va.,  in  1862. 

THE    PADDOCK    IRON   WORKS 

In  1828  Huxham  Paddock  moved  his  foundry  from  Sleeper's 
River  to  the  Arnold  Falls  and  there  set  up  a  blast  furnace  and  ex- 
tensive iron  works.  Hiram  Jones  and  Capt.  Ramsey  took  the 
contract  for  the  main  building  which  was  raised  and  finished 
"without  the  use  of  liquid  poison,  and  much  was  said  of  the  in- 
genuity and  excellent  workmanship  displayed."  A  large  force  of 
men  was  employed  in  these  works ;  as  the  business  expanded 
many  built  homes  for  themselves  and  the  community  came  to  be 
known  as  Paddock  Village. 

A  high  grade  quality  of  native  iron  was  made  in  the  Paddock 
blast  furnace.  The  fuel  used  was  charcoal  obtained  from  the 
neighboring  woods.  Ores  were  brought  in  on  heavy  teams  from 
what  was  then  a  famous  mine  in  Franconia ;  also  in  smaller  quan- 
tities from  Piermont,  N.  H.,  from  Waterford  and  Troy,  Vt.  After 
experiments  were  made  it  was  found  that  by  combining  these 
different  ores  a  particularly  firm  valuable  iron  could  be  obtained 
for  the  manufacture  of  stoves  and  hollow  iron  ware,  for  which 
products  there  was  a  steady  demand,  and  the  business  continued 
brisk  for  some  years. 

In  one  of  the  Paddock  shops  was  installed  a  turning  lathe 
which  was  considered  superior  to  any  other  in  the  State.  It  was 
capable  of  turning  a  shaft  of  three  feet  diameter  and  fourteen 
feet  long.  Turning  lathes  of  all  kinds  for  iron  or  wood  work 
were  manufactured  at  these  works,  also  various  mill  machinery, 
shafts,  cranks,  spindles,  gudgeons,  cylinders,  pumps,  hubs,  nails 
and  other  miscellany. 


148  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Huxham  Paddock  was  a  man  of  energy,  skill  and  shrewdness, 
and  of  dignified  character.  His  enterprise  and  public  spirit  con- 
tributed much  to  the  interests  of  the  town,  which  by  his  early 
death  suffered  serious  loss.  His  mother  Ann  Huxham  was  niece 
of  the  celebrated  physician  of  that  name  in  England.  Her 
brother  John  was  master  of  a  vessel  which  returning  from  Gauda- 
loupe  laden  with  dye  stuffs,  was  spoken  just  outside  the  harbor  of 
Newport,  R.  I.,  by  Capt.  Crooke,  who  asked  if  they  were  not 
coming  in?  "No,"  said  the  Captain,  "we're  too  heavily  loaded,  but 
will  be  in  for  breakfast."  During  the  night  a  sudden  tempest 
drove  the  ship  on  the  rocks  and  all  on  board  were  lost. 

MOOSE    RIVER    WATER    POWERS 

Sometime  during  the  twenties  the  Fairbanks  Brothers  estab- 
lished a  hoe  and  fork  factory  at  the  falls  where  the  Ely  works 
now  are.  Most  of  the  implements  of  this  sort  used  by  the 
farmers  of  that  period  were  made  here.  After  the  rise  of  the 
scale  business  their  work  at  this  factory  was  discontinued.  In 
1848,  George  W.  Ely,  re-established  the  hoe  and  fork  manufacture, 
which  has  had  a  most  prosperous  development  by  the  Ely  family 
until  the  present  time,  being  now  incorporated  in  the  American 
Hoe  and  Fork  Company.  • 

The  neighboring  water  power  at  the  head  of  Portland  street 
was  first  utilized  in  1854.  At  that  time  the  dam  and  saw  mill  was 
built  by  Jonathan  Lawrence  and  James  Harris. 

MILLS  AT  THE  CENTER 

About  the  year  1800,  and  before  there  was  any  village  up 
that  way,  Samuel  French  cleared  a  place  and  built  a  log  hut  near 
the  lower  end  of  Trout  Brook  on  the  Lyndon  road.  He  utilized  a 
little  fall  in  the  Brook,  for  a  small  saw  and  grist  mill,  the  first  in 
that  part  of  the  town. 

Not  long  after,  Eleazar  Sanger  who  came  over  from  the  Four 
Corners,  bought  what  is  now  the  land  included  in  the  Center  Vil- 
lage. He  threw  a  dam  across  the  Passumpsic,  and  soon  an  up 
and  down  saw  was  running  and  houses  began  to  be  built.      Logs 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  149 

at  that  time  were  drawn  up  to  the  roll-way  thro  the  sand  and  grit ; 
this  "kept  the  saw  bright  and  the  teeth  dull."  Logs  were  hauled 
in  during  the  winter  on  sleds,  each  man's  logs  were  stacked  in  a 
separate  pile,  and  every  log  was  marked  with  the  owner's  name. 
Sawing  was  begun  in  the  spring.  E.  H.  Stone  was  the  first  man 
to  introduce  a  circular  saw ;  he  had  the  logs  fished  from  the  river 
on  to  a  slip  and  there  was  no  more  dragging  thro  the  dirt. 

The  first  grist  mill  was  run  some  years  by  Reuben  Spaulding, 
afterward  by  Enoch  Wing.  As  the  farmers  made  wider  clearings 
the  increasing  crops  of  grain  began  to  tax  the  capacity  of  the  mill. 
In  the  fall  of  the  year  Wing  was  obliged  to  keep  his  mill  grinding 
night  and  day.  At  night  after  filling  up  his  hoppers  he  would 
camp  down  beside  the  mill-stones  for  a  nap  ;  when  this  first  batch 
was  ground  out,  the  peculiar  sound  made  by  the  stones  when  no 
grain  was  in  them  would  wake  him  ;  then  he  had  a  second  filling, 
a  second  nap,  and  so  on  thro  the  night.  There  were  two  sets  of 
millstones,  one  for  provender  and  one  for  flour ;  they  were 
granite  stone,  no  other  being  obtainable  at  that  time.  Once  a 
year  the  miller  had  a  salt-grinding  day;  every  body  was  notified 
that  salt  must  be  brought  in  that  day  ;  the  salt  was  washed,  then 
thoroughly  dried  and  ground.  Then  each  family  got  the  yearly 
supply  of  fine  salt,  no  other  being  had  except  by  pounding  in  a 
mortar.  This  grist  mill  was  sold  by  Wing  some  years  later,  1819, 
to  Ezra  Ide  ;  then  to  Hiram  H.  Ide  ;  the  original  mill  was  re- 
placed by  a  more  modern  one  of  brick,  which  was  destroyed  in 
the  fire  of  1876. 

A  carding  mill  was  started  a  short  distance  below  the  grist 
mill  by  Capt.  Walter  Wright,  who  also  set  up  a  turning  lathe,  cir- 
cular saw  and  other  machinery.  In  a  few  years  he  sold  the  card- 
ing works  to  Stoughton  and  Kimball ;  they  enlarged  the  plant, 
put  in  cloth  dressing  machinery  and  did  a  prosperous  business  for 
several  years  ;  during  that  period  the  farmers  raised  their  own 
wool  and  flax  which  after  carding  was  woven  into  cloth  on  the 
hand  looms,  then  dyed  and  finished  off  at  the  dressing  mill. 

A  starch  factory  was  operated  by  Morse  and  Ide  for  four 
years,  near  the  tannery  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river.  John 
Bacon  bought  out  this  business  and  moved  it  into  the  village  near 


150  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  other  mills.  He  paid  from  twelve  to  eighteen  cents  a  bushel 
for  potatoes ;  the  price  kept  rising  two  cents  a  year,  as  long  as 
he  continued  starch  making.  After  some  years  this  mill  was 
converted  at  considerable  expense  into  a  straw  board  factory,  and 
it  was  here  that  the  great  fire  originated  that  swept  the  village  in 
1876.  The  facts  given  in  the  foregoing  section  have  been  com- 
piled from  the  narrative  of  H.  N.  Roberts. 

MILLS   AT   GOSS   HOLLOW 

In  1793  David  Goss  built  a  saw  mill  on  the  upper  waters  of 
Sleeper's  River.  This  was  the  beginning  of  industries  that  made 
Goss  Hollow  famous  in  the  early  days.  A  year  later  there  was  a 
grist  mill,  then  a  blacksmith  shop  ;  after  this  a  starch  factory 
which  belonged  to  the  Hawkins  family  ;  then  saddlery  and  har- 
ness making  was  set  up,  and  finally  a  wool  carding  and  cloth 
dressing  mill  run  by  Capt.  Harris  Knapp.  Such  an  industrial 
center  had  this  place  become  that  at  one  time  there  was  talk  of 
setting  up  a  store  and  a  church.  Since  then  the  water  power  has 
dwindled  to  an  inconsiderable  stream  and  little  remains  to  dis- 
tinguish the  once  busy  hamlet  of  Goss  Hollow.  Sleeper's  River 
however  was  not  destined  to  remain  forever  undistinguished  in 
the  manufacturing  world,  for  by  and  by  new  industries  were  start- 
ed, lower  down  the  stream  at 

THE    FAIRBANKS    MILLS 

In  1815  Major  Joseph  Fairbanks  who  had  recently  come  up 
from  Brimfield,  began  improving  the  water  privilege  where  the 
scale  works  now  stand.  This  property  he  purchased  of  Presbury 
West;  originally  it  was  included  in  the  town  rights  belonging  to 
Jonathan  Arnold.  For  five  acres  including  rights  in  the  Falls  he 
paid  $300. 

The  dam  which  Joseph  Fairbanks  put  across  the  river  that 
spring,  except  some  slab  work  on  the  East  bank,  stood  undisturb- 
ed thro  the  riot  of  floods  and  the  wear  of  time  nearly  forty  years, 
till  in  1854  it  was  reinforced  for  the  larger  business  that  had 
grown  up  around  it,  with  steam  power  then  auxiliary.     The  first 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  151 

saw  mill  was  running  in  the  fall  of  1815,  and  the  grist  mill  in  the 
spring  of  1816;  but  the  season  that  followed  gave  scant  material 
for  a  grist  mill  to  work  on,  it  being  the  notable  cold  summer  of 
1816.  Three  pints  of  barley  heads  that  Nathaniel  Bishop  had 
culled  from  his  field  and  hulled  with  his  hand  constituted  the  first 
grist  brought  to  the  mill  that  season. 

The  upper  floor  of  the  grist  mill  was  fitted  with  machinery 
for  wagon  making,  and  in  the  spring  of  1817  several  pleasure 
wagons,  so  called,  were  turned  out,  made  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks, 
then  21  years  of  age.  These  were  the  first  wagons  ever  run  on 
our  roads,  except  the  one  made  by  him  in  Brimfield  and  brought 
here  two  years  before,  which  wagon  is  now  preserved  in  the 
Museum.  The  grist  and  carriage  building  was  swept  away  by  the 
great  flood  of  1828,  and  for  a  long  time  the  grist  mill  screw  stood 
up  a  conspicuous  object  stranded  on  the  river  bank  below. 

That  old  screw  at  one  time  ground  a  bushel  of  corn  for  As- 
quire  Aldrich,  a  veteran  of  the  army  who  knew  the  value  of  corn, 
having  starved  three  days  when  captured  by  the  British ;  in  1797 
he  came  here,  pitched  in  the  neighboring  wilderness,  and  as  time 
went  on  added  five  wives  and  fifteen  children  to  the  family  life  of 
the  town.  One  of  the  fifteen,  after  the  lapse  of  eighty  years  told 
about  that  bushel  of  corn.  "My  father  sent  me  with  the  corn  to 
be  ground  at  the  mill.  Greatly  to  my  surprise  I  saw  Mr.  Fair- 
banks go  to  my  bag  and  take  out  some  corn  before  he  began  to 
grind  it!  My  astonishment  knew  no  bounds  and  I  hurried  home 
to  tell  my  father  what  had  happened.  At  which  he  began  to 
laugh,  and  then  he  said  'Why,  George,  that  was  the  toll!'  Mr. 
Joseph  Fairbanks  laughed  heartily  over  this,  when  I  afterward 
told  him,  and  for  many  years  it  was  a  standing  joke  with  us." 

The  only  smut  machine  for  cleaning  grain  and  the  only  buzz 
saw  in  this  part  of  the  world  were  installed  in  the  Fairbanks  Mills. 
In  1818  Huxham  Paddock  had  a  trip  hammer  and  iron  foundry  in 
operation  near  by  ;  his  contract  called  for  water  power  enough  to 
carry  one  trip  hammer,  one  grindstone,  two  pair  of  bellows  ;  here 
somewhat  later  the  Fairbanks  Iron  Works  were  established  for 
the  manufacture  of  stoves,  plows,  and  whatever  else  anybody 
wanted.     Here  also  Dyer  Percival  had  his  fulling  mill   and   cloth 


152  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

dressing  works,  and  William  Hutchinson  carried  on  a  pottery  for 
making  domestic  ware.  Dense  woods  enclosed  this  busy  com- 
munity and  it  was  not  difficult  to  make  acquaintance  with  an  oc- 
casional wolf  or  bear. 

Lower  down  the  Sleeper's  River  near  the  Passumpsic  turn- 
pike was  a  clover  mill  which  Abel  Rice  bought  of  the  Fairbanks 
owners  in  1828.  Here  afterward  was  the  shop  of  the  Belknaps, 
whose  workmanship  in  iron,  steel  and  brass  was  of  very  superior 
quality  ;  knife  blades  tempered  and  polished  at  this  factory  were 
in  universal  demand. 

TO   DEPART   SAID   TOWN 

"It  was  customary  ye  newe  people  shd   be  worn'd  out  of  ye  towne." 

"  J  State  of  Vermont 
\  County  Caledonia 
To  Josiah  Thurston,   First  Constable  of  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury  in 
said  County  :    Greeting. 

You  are  hereby  requested  to  summon  Joseph  Fairbanks  and  Family, 
now  residing  in  St.  Johnsbury  to  depart  said  town. 

Hereof  fail  not,  but  of  this  precept  with  your  doings  herein  legal  service 
and  due  return  make  according  to  law. 

Given  under  our  hands  at  St.  Johnsbury,  this  25th  day  of  Nov.  1815. 

Ariel  Aldrich     ^ 
Philo  Bradley     >  Selectmen 
Joel  Hastings     J 

Then  served  this  precept  by  leaving  a  true  and  attested  copy  of  the 
original  precept  at  the  last  used  place  of  abode  of  the  within  named  Joseph 
Fairbanks  in  St.  Johnsbury. 

Josiah  Thurston,  Constable, 
Received  for  record,  Dec.  18,  1815  and  recorded. 

Luther  Clark,  Town  Clerk. 

Had  Mr.  Fairbanks  decided  to  depart  said  town  under  this 
order,  the  woods  of  Walden  might  have  had  a  scale  factory,  the 
brooks  of  Goshen  Gore  might  have  run  the  wheels  of  machine 
shops.  He  probably  paid  no  attention  whatever  to  the  writ,  but 
went  on  constructing  his  mill  at  Sleeper's  River.  It  was  one  of 
the  curious  customs  of  that  period  in  New  England  to  warn  out 
every  new  comer  on  the  assumption  that  he  might  some  time  be- 
come a  town  charge.     By  serving  this  process  upon  him   the  town 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  153 

was  releasing  itself  from  any  after  obligation  to  support  him. 
This  old  time  usage  was  deemed  of  sufficient  interest  as  a  freak 
or  curiosity  to  call  for  a  book  published  in  1912,  entitled 
"The  Warning  Out,"  "a  volume  of  utmost  interest  to  every  de- 
scendant of  the  New  England  settlers." 

One  hundred  and  eighty-three  persons  were  warned  out  of  St. 
Johnsbury  between  Jan.  1,  1805  and  Sept.  23,  1817.  Among  the 
number  were  many  who  became  well  known  citizens  and  some 
who  had  a  large  share  in  the  industrial  development  of  the  town. 
The  list  contains  such  familiar  names  as  Major  Abel  Butler,  1811  ; 
vSargent  Bagley,  1812  ;  Huxham  Paddock,  1813;  John  Armington 
and  Joseph  Fairbanks,  1815  ;  Rev.  Pearson  Thurston  first  pastor 
of  the  old  church,  1816  ;  Leonard  Harrington  and  Levi  Fuller, 
1816;  Ezra  Ide  and  Capt.  James  Ramsey,  1817. 

FROM    FIREPLACE    TO    COOK-STOVE 

Cobble  stone  fire  places  kept  the  roaring  fires  and  cooked  the 
substantial  victuals  of  early  time.  Potatoes  got  nicely  roasted  in 
the  ashes,  and  a  bear  steak  or  a  wild  partridge  would  be  done  to  a 
turn  on  the  end  of  a  rotating  spit.  A  tin  oven  set  front  of  the  fire 
did  the  baking  of  bread  and  cakes  ;  on  the  swinging  crane  were 
suspended  pots  and  kettles  going  to  and  fro.  A  mother  who  lived 
in  one  of  the  first  log  cabins  said  she  used  to  bake  her  corn  cakes 
on  a  board  before  the  coals ;  she  had  a  way  of  suspending  a  goose 
by  a  strong  cord  some  distance  above  the  fire ;  the  goose  would 
accommodatingly  turn  itself  this  way  and  that  on  the  cord  so  as 
to  get  an  even  cooking  on  all  sides,  and  never  was  goose  more 
neatly  done  for  the  table.  Out  of  doors  hung  the  big  iron  kettle 
between  forked  sticks  over,  a  rambling  fire,  ready  for  making  soap 
or  sugar  or  potash. 

It  was  a  good  many  years  before  stoves  of  any  sort  were  had 
in  the  town.  For  generating  warmth  in  the  old  first  school  house 
of  the  Middle  District  in  1806,  a  large  flat  rock  was  planted  on  the 
floor,  upon  which  was  set  a  potash  kettle  bottom  side  up  and  tilted 
a  bit  at  one  side.  Under  this  kettle  a  fire  was  kindled ;  a  hole 
drilled  thro  the  bottom  which  was  now  the  top  of  the  inverted 
kettle  received  a  small  pipe  that  carried  off  the  smoke.     This  was 


1S4       v  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

St.  Johnsbury's  first  achievement  in  stove  making.  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  inventor  suffered  persecution  on  account  of  it ; 
tho  thirteen  years  later  at  a  Unitarian  council  in  Boston,  Rev. 
John  Pierpont  was  charged  with  having  invented  a  new  style  of 
stove.    See  page  113. 

After  Dr.  Lord  had  built  his  new  house  at  the  south  end  of 
the  Plain,  he  imported  from  Montreal  a  large  metallic  structure 
reported  to  have  been  cast  in  Scotland ;  this  had  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  real  cook-stove  in  the  town.  It  was  so  much  of 
a  curiosity  that  people  used  to  visit  the  house  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  it,  and  it  was  the  object  of  considerable  comment ;  one  old 
codger  after  inspecting  it  said  he  would  as  lief  try  to  warm  him- 
self sitting  beside  a  nigger  as  by  that  great  black  thing.  Tradi- 
tion tells  us  "it  was  so  monstrous  that  a  kettle  could  be  set  inside 
the  oven,"  but  no  indication  is  given  as  to  the   size  of  the  kettle. 

The  time  presently  came  when  it  was  no  longer  necessary  to 
send  off  to  foreign  parts  for  such  conveniences.  In  the  Fairbanks 
foundries  stoves  of  various  sorts  began  to  be  cast,  and  finally  in 
1827  there  was  brought  out  and  patented  the  famous  Diving  Flue 
Cook-Stove,  which  was  in  almost  universal  use  throughout  this 
region  till  well  into  the  fifties.  This  was  a  large  deep  bellied  box 
stove,  the  most  effective  cooking  apparatus  then  obtainable.  By 
means  of  a  rising  and  diving  flue  and  rolling  damper  the  draft  was 
brought  under  complete  control  and  the  oven  readily  tempered  to 
any  desired  use.  The  sunken  projecting  hearth  provided  for 
broiling  on  coals,  also  for  quick  heating  of  the  tea  kettle  over  a 
handful  of  chips.  This  type  of  cook-stove  was  considered  a  valu- 
able invention  and  a  prime  necessity  in  every  well-appointed 
kitchen;  it  brought  large  increase  of  business  to  the  St.  Johnsbury 
Iron  Works.     Thaddeus  Fairbanks  was  the  inventor. 

ST.    JOHNSBURY   HEMP   WORKS 

In  1829,  when  hemp  culture  was  flourishing  among  farmers 
of  this  and  other  towns  an  establishment  for  dressing  hemp  for 
the  market  was  erected  on  Sleeper's  River  where  the  scale  pack- 
ing shop  now  is.  Here  were  installed  three  machines  for  dressing 
hemp.      Each  machine  was  thirty-two  feet  long  by  four  broad,  had 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  155 

65  fluted  rollers  geared  together  so  as  to  break  the  hemp  straw 
properly  when  drawn  through  them.  The  gear  wheels  and  other 
particular  parts,  also  a  machine  invented  for  fluting  the  rollers, 
were  made  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  his  hand  work.  He  was  ap- 
pointed manager  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Hemp  Company,  and  he 
patented  an  improved  hemp  dresser. 

As  a  business  venture  the  hemp  enterprise  proved  unprofit- 
able ;  but  out  of  it  came  an  unexpected  asset  that  ultimately 
shaped  the  destiny  of  this  town.  Fifteen  dollars  a  ton  was  paid 
for  undressed  hemp  straw.  The  only  way  of  getting  at  the 
weight  was  by  hooking  chains  around  the  cart  axle  and  lifting  the 
load  at  the  short  arm  of  a  huge  wooden  steelyard.  Mr.  Fairbanks 
contrived  a  platform  with  levers  under  it  on  to  which  the  load 
could  be  drawn,  and  thus  came  in  to  being  the  invention  of  the 
Platform  Scale,  which  in  coming  years  was  to  make  St.  Johns- 
bury  famous  throughout  the  business  world. 

THE    OLD    COUNTING   ROOM   OF    1832 

The  fire  that  destroyed  the  store  in  Fairbanks  Village  in  Nov. 
1889,  also  swept  away  the  "Counting  Room"  in  the  small  building 
adjoining,  which  had  been  for  more  than  fifty  years  the  executive 
seat  of  the  industries  there  carried  on.  Someone  whose  memory 
went  back  far  enough  recalled  the  scenes  of  earlier  time  in  that 
room,  with  pleasant  reference  to  the  first  clerk  employed  there  : — 

"Hiram  Knapp  was  book-keeper,  mail  carrier,  store  keeper,  chore  man, 
the  ever  faithful  and  trusty  Knapp.  On  a  shelf  at  one  end  of  the  Counting 
Room  he  kept  his  store,  stocked  with  blue  drilling  for  men's  aprons,  buttons, 
soap,  etc.  When  not  busy  with  keeping  books,  tending  store  or  carrying  the 
mail,  H.  K.  hauled  castings  from  the  Paddock  Foundry  with  Old  Sorrell, 
which  horse  besides  doing  all  the  trucking  of  the  Scale  Works,  did  duty  also 
as  a  family  horse,  taking  children  to  ride,  or  going  over  to  the  Bank  in  Dan- 
ville, where  all  banking  business  was  done.  What  a  tale  of  deep  sagacity, 
earnest  purpose,  indomitable  perseverance,  rigid  economy  and  high  resolve 
the  walls  of  that  old  Counting  Room  could  tell  of  the  three  Brothers  at  'the 
one  desk  where  they  worked,  and  builded  better  than  they  knew." 

It  seems  however  there  was  a  yet  older  Counting  Room, 
which  this  same  Hiram  Knapp  told  about  in  some  reminiscences 
given  to  his  children  long  afterwards,  as  follows  : — 


156  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"It  was  on  the  22nd  of  May,  1832,  that  I  came  down  on  the 
stage  from  Lyndon,  snow  falling  quite  fast,  to  begin  with  the 
Fairbanks  Company.  The  Counting  Room,  known  for  so  many 
years  since  as  the  headquarters  of  the  business,  was  then  in  the 
end  of  the  plough  shop :  where  also  some  goods  for  the  workmen 
and  their  families,  such  as  tea,  sugar,  molasses,  woolen  and  cotton 
cloth,  were  kept  for  sale.  I  boarded  six  weeks  with  Dea.  Erastus 
Fairbanks,  who  lived  in  the  little  house  at  the  corner  of  the  Dan- 
ville road,  (site  of  the  Office  Building  of  today)  ;  from  the  first  I 
was  treated  as  one  of  the  family,  and  a  pleasanter  home  could 
not  be  found.  This  house  was  successively  occupied  by  Huxham 
Paddock,  Erastus  Fairbanks,  J.  P.  Fairbanks,  Hiram  Knapp,  John 
H.  Paddock.  (It  now  stands  first  on  the  right,  going  to  the  Danville 
bridge.)  The  other  houses  in  the  Village  were  'The  Homestead' 
on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  a  two  story  house  recently  built  by 
Joseph  Fairbanks,  father  of  Erastus,  in  the  east  end  of  which  also 
his  son  Thaddeus  lived.  Near  the  bridge  were  three  houses,  oc- 
cupied by  John  Rowland,  Austin  Hubbard  and  Levi  Fuller. 

"The  business  part  of  the  Village  consisted  of  a  saw  mill,  in 
charge  of  Mark  C.  Webster,  a  grist  mill  with  a  pair  of  new  burr 
mill  stones,  a  blacksmith  shop,  with  a  dozen  men,  Elisha  Peck, 
Loammi  Flint  and  others  ;  also  the  dry  house  of  the  old  hemp 
mill  which  was  used  for  the  plough  shop,  store,  counting  room 
and  lodging  place  of  the  clerk.  At  this  date  the  cast  iron  ploughs 
newly  invented,  and  considered  very  serviceable,  especially  the 
sidehill  ploughs,  made  the  principal  business.  Hoes,  forks,  culti- 
vators and  other  agricultural  implements  were  being  manufactured, 
all  of  the  finest  quality  in  the  market  ;  also  heavy  screws  for  the 
use  of  factories,  powder  mills,  clothiers  and  presses,  weighing  up 
to  1500  lbs.  ;  the  cutting  and  finishing  of  these  screws  was  a  nice 
piece  of  workmanship. 

"After  a  time  the  demand  for  scales  obliged  the  proprietors  to 
gradually  discontinue  the  manufacture  of  other  articles  and  devote 
themselves  to  scales  of  various  descriptions.  The  agents  for  dis- 
tributing these  were  selected  with  the  greatest  care ;  they  were 
furnished  with  carefully  written  instructions,  with  drawings  in 
water  colors  and  plan  and  model  of  each  scale,  the  importance  of 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES  157 

which  I  had  to  know,  as  I  drew  them  myself.  Care,  system  and 
constant  watchfulness  were  insisted  on,  the  agents  were  invari- 
ably men  of  energy,  reliability  and  industry ;  they  made  full  re- 
ports of  their  explorations,  labors  and  trials,  and  uniformly  they 
secured  the  confidence  of  individuals  and  the  public.  Among 
these  men  who  were  pioneers  of  this  business  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  were  Houghton,  Evans,  May,  West,  Thrasher,  Norris, 
Sherman,  Sanborn,  Eastman,  Oakes,  Aldeu  Young  and  others. 

"Young  was  sent  to  the  Southern  States  in  1832.  In  one  of 
his  letters  he  gave  a  vivid  account  of  the  trial  and  whipping  of  a 
man  named  Dresser  for  having  in  his  trunk  papers  from  the 
North  containing  references  to  slavery.  I  made  some  extracts 
from  Young's  letter,  omitting  parts  that  might  be  thought  offen- 
sive and  they  were  published  in  the  Vermont  Chronicle.  Mr. 
Young  afterward  wrote  me  that  happening  to  look  over  the  file 
of  newspapers  in  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  New  Orleans,  his  eye  fell 
on  these  extracts  which  had  been  copied  and  found  their  way 
down  there  ;  he  said  if  it  were  known  that  he  was  their  author  it 
might  have  cost  him  his  life.  Soon  afterward  he  perished,  with 
100  others  in  the  explosion  of  the  boiler  of  the  Ben  Sherwood 
which  was  racing  up  the  Mississippi  River.  Hon.  Charles  Durkee, 
Governor  of  Wisconsin  and  Senator  in  Congress,  was  one  of  our 
traveling  agents. 

"I  used  to  go  out  on  trips  for  collections,  driving  Old  Sorrell  ; 
by  starting  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  could  make  fifty  miles  a 
day  for  a  week  at  a  time ;  these  trips  were  thro  towns  in  Ver- 
mont and  New  Hampshire.  A  plough  agency  and  manufactory 
was  established  in  Waterville,  Maine,  under  management  of  J.  P. 
Fairbanks.  Driving  up  one  time  from  Waterville,  I  found  myself 
overtaken  by  darkness  ten  miles  below  the  old  Crawford  place 
which  I  wanted  to  reach  that  night.  I  urged  the  tired  horse  to 
put  his  best  foot  forward ;  he  seemed  to  understand,  and  over  that 
ten  miles  up  the  Saco,  with  only  one  or  two  houses  on  the  way  and 
so  dark  that  I  could  not  see  the  horse,  we  made  our  way  thro  the 
forest  with  perfect  safety,  tho  it  was  the  season  for  bears  and 
other  wild  animals. 


158  TOWN  OP  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"One  Monday  in  February,  Horace  Fairbanks  started  out  ort 
a  trip  which  took  us  away  ten  days,  with  the  mercury  below  zero 
every  day,  one  day  34  degrees  below.      Near  Haverhill,  in  the  in- 
tense cold,  a  Northwester  struck  thro  our  buffalo  coats  as  if  they 
were  only  thinnest  clothing.      Meantime  a  letter  from   Charles 
Fairbanks  informed  us  that  however  cold  it  might  appear  to  us , 
it  was  not  so  cold  but  that  molasses  would  run  in  St.  Johnsbury  ; 
for  he  had  tried  it  by  setting  a  measure  under   the  faucet,   and 
while  he  sat  snugly  by  the  side  of   the  stove,  the   molasses  not 
only  flowed  the  quantity  wanted  but  went  on  flooding  the  floor  in 
addition."     This  was  in  the  Old  Counting  Room. 


XII 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS 


STREET  SPORTS— LONG  BALL— MERRYMAKINGS— SAPLING  AND 
MUSKET— URSA  STUMPIENSIS— BEAR  HUNT — PATRIOTIC  RALLY 
— JUNE    TRAINING— THE    56 — FOURTH    OF  JULY. 


SPORTS   ON    THE    GREEN 

The  strenuous  demands  of  pioneer  life  allowed  little  oppor- 
tunity for  the  diversions  of  later  years.  Whatever  recreations 
there  were  usually  fell  on  a  Sunday.  Until  about  1810  this  day 
was  very  largely  given  over  to  social  pleasures,  hunting  and  fish- 
ing, wrestling  matches,  street  sports  ;  the  restraining  influence  of 
religious  leadership  was  lacking,  there  was  no  regular  public  wor- 
ship ;  young  and  old  amused  themselves  as  they  had  a  mind  to. 
After  the  formation  of  the  church  in  1809,  a  change  in  public  sen- 
timent began  to  be  effected  and  the  old-time  Sunday  sports  were 
brought  forward  into  Saturday  afternoon.  This  was  the  period 
of  horseback  matches  on  the  Plain ;  the  head  of  the  street  was 
the  rendezvous  and  the  galloping  steeds  swept  the  whole  distance 
down  to  Dr.  Lord's  at  the  South  end.  There  were  then  fifteen 
houses  on  the  street  and  no  general  congestion  of  traffic.  A 
notable  feature,  as  reported  by  old  inhabitants,  was  the  superior 
equestrienneship  of  Sally  Tute,  sister  of  Zibe  Tute,  who  leaping  on 
a  barebacked  horse  called  for  a  glass  of  stimulant  and  challenged 
any  man  of  the  crowd  to  overtake  her. 

ball  clubs.      After  a  time  that  particular  sport  was  discon- 
tinued and  skilled  ball  playing  became  very  popular.     Ball  Clubs 


160  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

were  organized  and  contesting  games  were  played  on  the  Green 
at  the  head  of  the  Plain. 

"There  all  the  village  train  from  labor  free, 
Led  up  their  sport  beneath  the  spreading  tree." 

On  assembling,  the  roll  of  the  Clubs  would  be  called,  and  as 
part  of  the  necessary  discipline,  an  absentee  would  have  to  pay 
four-pence  ha'  penny  fine,  or  a  glass  of  something  stronger  than 
water  for  a  drink.  Ephraim  Paddock,  the  tall  young  lawyer  re- 
cently settled  in  the  town,  was  Captain  of  one  of  the  Clubs  and 
tradition  says  that  "Squire  Paddock  was  a  great  hand  at  long 
ball." 

Long-ball  and  round-ball,  before  the  advent  of  the  present  day 
base-ball  were  the  games  for  men.  Three-year-old-cat  and  four- 
year-old-cat  were  in  vogue  for  boys  as  late  as  1850,  and  there  are 
probably  quite  a  few  veterans  of  four-year-old-cat  who  can  still 
repeat  the  magic  formula  used  in  choosing  sides  : — 

"On-e-ry  U-ge-ry  Ick-er-y  Ann, 
Phil-i-sy  Phol-i-sy  Nich-o-las  John, 
Quee-vy  Quaw-vy  Irish  Mary 
Stick-i-lum  Stalk-i-lum  By-low  Buck— Out" 

No  one  dreamed  that  some  day  Arnold  Bennett  would  be 
saying :  "How  mighty  nevertheless  is  American  base  ball ;  its 
fame  floats  thro  Europe  as  something  prodigious,  incomprehen- 
sible, romantic  and  terrible." 

quoits.  Somewhere  near  the  tavern  or  store  were  seen  the 
pegs  at  the  shallow  spots  worn  by  the  pitching  of  quoits.  Skill  in 
these  contests  was  as  real  as  in  the  times  of  Homer,  when  "some 
whirled  the  discus  and  some  the  javelin  dart."  Flat  stones  an- 
swered fairly  well  for  a  while,  but  this  was  an  importantgame 
insomuch  that  after  a  time  the  Paddock  foundry  began  turning  out 
a  reproduction,  in  small  size,  of  the  ancient  discus  of  Ulysses. 
Quoits  of  an  entirely  modern  type  came  in  to  common  use  when 
the  flat  iron  weights  of  the  new  scale  industry  were  taken  up 
for  play-things  at  the  pegs  ;  then  some  whirled  the  discus  and 
some  the  platform  scale  weights. 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS  161 

thb  wrestling  match.  We  find  that  "wrastling"  was  for 
more  than  fifty  years  an  indispensable  feature  of  out-door  town 
life.  Belonging:  as  it  did  to  the  acrobatic  rather  than  the  pugilis- 
tic department  of  physical  accomplishments  it  had  good  standing 
for  holiday  entertainment  and  furthermore  created  a  demand  for 
popular  meets  and  competitive  tests  in  the  art.  Certain  sections 
of  the  town  had  their  local  matches  and  expert  wrestlers  ;  then 
after  the  championship  for  the  different  villages  had  been  deter- 
mined on  their  own  streets,  the  final  one  for  the  town  was  wrestled 
for.  A  memorable  one  was  that  between  Henry  Jenkins  for  the 
Plain  and  Ira  Bagley  for  Paddock  Village,  held  by  lantern  light 
on  Saturday  night  front  of  the  tavern,  at  which  the  Plain  won  the 
honors.  Tradition  allows  that  the  watch  of  the  referee  was  set 
back  suitably  as  the  midnight  hour  approached. 

all  together  for  a  hoist.  Raisings  were  hilarious  oc- 
casions of  town-wide  importance.  Lifting  the  heavy  hewn 
timbers  then  in  use  called  for  the  united  muscular  force  of  all  the 
able  bodied  men.  The  entire  framework  of  each  side  of  a  build- 
ing was  jointed  together  lying  on  the  ground ;  this  broadside  was 
called  a  bent ;  it  had  to  be  hoisted  and  swung  into  position  by  a 
posse  of  men  with  pike  poles  who  guided  each  tenon  to  its  cor- 
responding mortise  in  the  sill.  Until  about  1830  it  was  not  con- 
sidered possible  that  a  raising  could  be  properly  carried  thro  with- 
out the  reinforcing  beverages  that  flowed  freely  at  such  times, 
under  stimulus  of  which  some  crowning  acrobatic  feat  would  be 
executed  on  the  ridge  pole—the  outstanding  event  of  this  kind  in 
the  history  of  the  town  was  the  raising  of  the  Meeting  House  on 
the  Hill,  in  1804,  narrated  on  page  124. 

the  husking  bee.  "Come,  Molly,  my  dear,  spur  up;  get 
ready  something  good  and  cheering,  and  we'll  have  a  Husking 
tonight."  The  place  will  be  on  the  barn  floor  of  the  Gardner 
Wheeler  farm  up  at  the  Four  Corners.  Corn  shocks  are  packed 
solidly  along  the  upper  end  of  the  floor;  the  cattle  in  their 
stanchions  are  having  a  comfortable  evening  chew  on  their  cuds  ; 
tallow  candle  lanterns  of  punched  tin  are  hanging  from  pitchforks 
stuck  into  the  hay  mows.      Squatting  on  boxes,  milking-stools   or 


162  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

flat  pumpkins  is  a  merry  group  of  young  folks  stripping  out  the 
corn,  with  now  and  then  a  test  of  marksmanship  to  see  how  near 
to  somebody's  ear  an  ear  can  be  shied  without  hitting ;  also  a 
keen  and  eager  scrutiny  for  the  upturning  of  a  red  ear  which  en- 
titles the  lucky  holder  thereof  to  the  privilege  of  a  kiss.  Two 
hours  of  such  close  attention  to  business  leads  up  to  the  next  act 
which  is  in  front  of  the  blazing  fire  logs  in  the  kitchen,  where 
work  is  concentrated  on  pumpkin  pie  and  cheese,  doughnuts  and 
cider,  after  which  the  sprighty  hop.  Formerly  some  variation  in 
beverage  was  found  conducive  :  "they  could  not  handle  the  corn 
till  the  Rhum  bottle  had  enlivened  them,  then  they  gave  three 
cheers,  the  work  was  done  in  a  trice,  and  they  went  to  their 
pastimes  at  ten  o'clock." 

To  the  English,  maize  was  an  unknown  product  and  the 
Husking  was  a  novel  entertainment.  In  1791,  Rear-Admiral 
Bartholemew  Jones  saw  "the  Ceremony  of  Husking,  a  kind  of 
Harvest  Home  with  the  additional  amusement  of  kissing  the 
girls  whenever  one  met  with  a  Red  corn  cob — also  there  was 
dancing,  singing  and  moderate  drinking."  During  his  captivity 
among  the  Indians,  Capt.  John  Smith  was  told  that  one  of  the 
ceremonies  at  a  marriage  was  the  presentation  of  a  red  ear  of  corn 
by  the  squaw  to  her  man  ;  out  of  which  custom  may  have  been 
evolved  among  the  white  settlers  the  genial  kissing  privilege  per- 
taining to  the  red  ear.  The  old  time  Husking  has  not  yet  lost  its 
good  standing  either  in  up-country  barns  or  city  ones.  In  1909, 
the  Vermont  Association  of  Boston  entertained  a  thousand  people 
on  the  floor  of  Mechanics  Hall,  transformed  into  a  barn  floor  of 
corn  stalks  and  pumpkins  where  the  standard  stunts  of  the  Husk- 
ing Bee  were  properly  executed,  with  the  proper  cheer  thereafter 
of  pumpkin  pie,  doughnuts  and  drafts  from  the  cider  barrels. 

divers  sorts  of  bees.  Bees  in  earlier  times  were  far  more 
plentiful  than  now,  adapted  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  work 
and  play — Husking  Bees  for  everybody  ;  Chopping  or  Log-rolling 
Bees  for  men  ;  Quilting  Bees  for  matrons  ;  Apple-paring  Bees  for 
young  folks  ;  Spinning  Bees  for  Priscillas  ;  Goose-plucking  Bees 
for  girls  and  boys,  wherein  the  boys  had  to  catch  the  geese  and 
hold  them  properly  while  the  girls  adjusted  stockings  over  their 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS  163 

heads  and  leisurely  plucked  the  feathers,  reserving  the  quills  for 
the  school  marm  to  make  up  into  quill  pens,  the  only  ones  in  use. 
Bees  of  whatever  sort  called  for  victuals  to  match  the  large 
expenditures  of  vitality.  It  is  not  supposed  however  that  every 
Bee  made  way  with  all  the  varieties  of  nutriment  that  rounded  up 
Mrs.  Stockwell's  Apple  Paring  Bee ;  which  included  "chicken 
pie,  fresh  baked  beans,  pork  and  pickles,  corn  bread  or  johnny- 
cake,  hot  biscuit,  doughnuts  and  cheese,  indian  pudding,  pumpkin 
pie,  cranberry  pie,  pound  cake,  sponge  cake,  fruit  cake,  fried 
apple  turnovers,  currant  jelly  tarts,  peach  preserves,  ginger 
cookies,  seed  cakes  and  coffee." 

A   SAPLING   AND   A   MUSKET 

Early  in  the  century  Simeon  Cobb,  coming  up  on  horseback 
from  a  trip  down  below,  caught  up  an  elm  sapling  for  a  switch  to 
encourage  his  horse  withal.  The  root  being  on  it,  he  set  it  in  the 
ground  near  his  house.  To  his  surprise  it  not  only  survived  the 
day's  operations  but  took  kindly  to  the  Cobb  soil,  rooted  itself  to 
stay,  and  still  throws  its  shadow  over  the  old  County  road  a  mile 
or  so  this  side  the  Lyndon  line. 

Three  generations  of  Cobbs— Simeon,  Elkanah,  Charles — lived 
and  died  there  while  it  was  coming  to  full  growth,  near  where  the 
old  well  sweep  used  to  be,  and  where  the  little  trout  brook  runs 
merrily  along.  The  great  clock  that  meanwhile  ticked  off  the 
hours  for  nearly  a  century  under  the  family  roof,  came  by  bequest 
to  the  Museum  where  it  has  the  prospect  of  being  carefully  cher- 
ished for  more  centuries  to  come. 

Simeon  Cobb  handled  other  timber  than  young  elm  sticks. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  joined  the  Lexington  minute  men.  In 
the  revolutionary  war  he  enlisted  under  Stark  and  at  the  battle  of 
Bennington  he  wrested  a  musket  from  the  hands  of  a  British  red- 
coat which  he  retained  as  a  trophy  of  that  victorious  day  until  his 
death.  It  went  back  again  to  the  old  battle  field  100  years  after 
in  the  hands  of  Charles  Cobb  who  carried  it  at  the  Bennington 
Centennial  of  1877.  This  musket  is  now  in  the  Museum  where  it 
stands  in  honorable  distinction,  decorated  with  the  name  and  the 
date  that  the  old  soldier  cut  deeply  in  to  its  stock  with  his  pocket 


164  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

knife.  He  was  expert  with  tools ;  in  the  same  building  may  be 
seen  silver  shoe  buckles,  polished  steel  tongs  for  Sunday  use,  and 
other  articles  the  work  of  his  hand. 

After  the  Bennington  battle  Cobb  enlisted  on  a  privateer,  was 
captured  with  sixty  others  and  put  to  hard  labor  for  two  years  on 
the  British  fleet  in  the  West  Indies.  Only  seven  of  these  sixty 
survived  the  severities  of  their  captivity,  one  of  whom  was  Cobb, 
who  after  Cornwallis'  surrender  returned  to  America  and  in  1798 
came  to  St.  Johnsbury,  cleared  the  Cobb  farm  where  he  lived  re- 
spected by  all  as  a  good  citizen,  till  his  death  in  1843.  His 
experiences  while  a  prisoner  and  his  escape  from  the  British 
frigate  are  narrated  under  some  out-of-town  events  farther  on. 

HE    SMOTE    THE    BEAR 

"I've  had  queer  dreams  an'  seen  queer  things  an'  alius  tried  to  do 
The  thing  that  luck  apparently  intended  f'r  me  to  do." 

Eugene  Field. 

Returning  from  the  Plain  to  his  home  up  in  the  Four  Corners 
one  November  night,  George  Aldrich  came  upon  a  bear  sitting 
in  the  middle  of  the  road.  Being  young  and  muscular  and  having 
a  heavy  staff  in  his  hand,  he  determined  to  test  that  quadruped's 
right  in  the  highway.  Advancing  boldly  he  smote  the  bear  a  tre- 
mendous blow  across  the  nose.  It  was  well  aimed  and  sufficiently 
forceful  to  instantly  accomplish  its  purpose.  The  bear  was  so 
startled  and  stunned  by  the  unexpected  stroke  as  to  be  rendered 
incapable  of  reply.  Aldrich  was  elated  at  having  so  speedily  and 
easily  vanquished  a  bear.  On  closer  inspection  he  discovered 
that  his  bear  was  a  quite  unique  specimen.  It  belonged  to  the 
species  known  as  Ursa  Stumpiensis :  a  rotten  stump  that  had  rolled 
down  into  the  road.  This  valorous  performance  of  Aldrich  gained 
him  distinction  at  the  Four  Corners,  as  the  great  bear  man  of 
that  part  of  the  town. 

NINE    BEAR    PELTS 

Too  many  bears  were  disporting  themselves  amongst  the 
farm  crops  in   1812.     It  was  thought  best  to  reduce  the  number. 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS  165 

Dr.  Calvin  Jewett  took  the  field  as  Captain  and  with  him  one  or 
two  hundred  men  on  the  war  path  for  bears.  During:  the  early 
morning  they  encompassed  a  wide  range  of  forest,  having  as  the 
point  of  convergence  the  deep  gully  that  opens  on  the  east  side  of 
Passumpsic  River  half  way  between  the  Plain  and  Center  Village. 
In  to  this  gulch  ten  bears  were  gotten  during  the  day.  One 
somehow  broke  out  and  escaped.  But  before  sundown,  as  the 
narrator  remarked  in  1860  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "there  were 
nine  bear  pelts  spread  out  on  the  Green  front  of  the  old  Edson 
tavern,  all  of  which  were  sold  for  the  necessaries  of  life — rum, 
bread  and  butter."  Of  the  junketing  on  bear  steak,  rum  and  rye 
and  indian,  the  particulars  have  not  survived. 

It  was  during  the  despatching  of  the  bears  that  Elhanan 
McMenus  imagined  himself  to  have  been  shot,  and  set  up  a  howl- 
ing that  came  down  thro  all  traditions  of  the  day  in  after  years. 
When  remonstrated  with  he  said  he  "wouldn't  have  hollered  so 
loud  if  the  ball  hadn't  struck  so  near  his  vitals."  He  was  ob- 
sessed with  the  idea  that  what  was  intended  for  a  bear  had  found 
its  way  in  to  him.  For  forty  years  after  Elhanan  was  a  sort  of 
curiosity  in  the  town ;  always  on  the  fringe  of  bear  hunts,  wrest- 
ling matches,  town  trainings ;  now  and  then  a  church  visitor 
stalking  up  the  whole  length  of  the  aisle  while  the  minister  was 
in  the  midst  of  his  sermon. 

WAR   OF    1812      PATRIOTIC    RALLY 

The  declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain  was  made  June 
18,  1812.  On  Monday  of  the  6th  of  July  following,  pursuant  to 
public  call,  a  large  assembly  of  citizens  of  St.  Johnsbury  and  ad- 
jacent towns  met  on  the  Green  front  of  Major  Abel  Butler's,  the 
old  Edson  Tavern,  a  mile  south  of  the  Center  Village,  for  the 
purpose  of  commemorating  the  36th  anniversary  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  Gen.  William  Cahoon  was  president  of  the 
day,  Major  R.  W.  Fenton  was  chief  marshal.  The  procession 
formed  and  marched  up  to  the  Meeting  House  on  the  Hill, 

"escorted  by  Capt.  Samuel  Wheeler's  well  disciplined  company  of  Light  In- 
fantry ;  here  they  were  met  by  a  Band  of  Instrumental  Music  and  a  company 
of  about  a  hundred  Ladies,  elegantly  dressed  in  robes  of  white  and  wreaths 


166  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

of  evergreen.  Thus  escorted  the  procession  entered  the  Meeting  House, 
where  after  being  seated,  the  services  of  the  sanctuary  were  performed  in  a 
solemn  and  impressive  manner  by  Elders  Palmer,  Page  and  Peck.  The  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  the  Declaration  of  War  and  President  Madison's 
Proclamation  were  then  read  by  Major  Wm.  A.  Griswold,  after  which  an 
elegant,  candid  and  patriotic  Oration  was  delivered  by  Isaac  Fletcher  Esq. 
These  exercises  being  closed  the  procession  returned  under  escort  and  ac- 
companied by  the  Ladies,  whose  presence  added  great  brilliancy  to  the 
occasion,  to  a  bower  erected  on  the  Green,  where  about  a  hundred  freemen 
partook  of  an  excellent  cold  collation  prepared  by  Major  and  Mrs.  Butler." 

The  exercises  rounded  up  .with  a  string  of  toasts,  eighteen 
in  number  which  were  drunk  under  the  discharge  of  musketry. 
Among  the  eighteen  toasts  were 

Aro.  4,  The  United  States  of  America  :  the  only  republic  on  earth  ;  George 
and  Napoleon  with  all  their  efforts  and  leagued  with  all  the  despots  on  the 
globe  were  unable  to  destroy  it.  No.  6,  The  Tree  of  Liberty  :  its  roots  are 
moistened  with  the  richest  blood  of  heroes ;  may  its  luxuriant  branches 
spread  till  all  nations  shall  regale  themselves  beneath  them.  No.  7,  The 
American  Navy  :  small  in  number,  but  great  in  valor  and  patriotism  ;  may 
it  ere  long  set  bounds  to  the  present  tyrant  of  the  sea,  the  enemy  of  the 
rights  of  man.  No.  9,  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  1776,  The  Declara- 
tion of  War,  1812  :  the  same  spirit  which  originated  the  one,  dictated  the 
other,  and  will  again  be  supported  by  the  blood  and  treasure  of  America." 

These  sentiments  so  confidently  uttered  were  amply  realized 
in  the  events  of  the  war ;  No.  7,  as  we  now  read  it  was  strikingly 
prophetic  of  the  brilliant  achievements  of  the  little  Navy  that  set 
bounds  in  the  midst  of  the  seas,  and  made  illustrious  the  names 
of  Decatur,  Perry,  Bainbridge,  Lawrence,  Hull,  McDonough. 
Major  Butler  who  entertained  the  assembly  on  his  Green,  enlisted 
with  a  Company  recruited  in  this  vicinity ;  he  just  missed  the 
Battle  of  Plattsburg,  for  when  he  arrived  on  the  scene  the  British 
were  precipitately  retreating  toward  Canada.  That  day,  Sept.  11, 
1814,  was  thick  and  cloudy,  the  wind  in  the  west ;  and  Henry 
Little  on  a  hill  two  miles  or  more  west  of  the  Plain  relates  that  he 
distinctly  heard  the  boom,  boom,  of  the  cannon  from  the  field  of 
Plattsburg,  the  wind  blowing  strong  from  the  west. 

major  abel  butler  bought  the  Edson  place  including  four 
hundred  acres  of  meadow  and  hill  land  in  1810  ;  here  lived  his  son 
Abel  Jr.,  and  his  grandson  Beauman.      Madame  Butler  his  wife 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS  167 

was  a  woman  of  remarkable  vigor  of  mind  and  body.  She  received 
her  friends  in  this  old  house  on  her  centennial  birthday,  1863,  with 
a  dignity  and  grace  that  impressed  all  her  guests.  At  that  time 
she  was  the  mother  of  nine  children,  forty-one  grandchildren, 
sixty  great  grandchildren,  most  of  whom  were  then  living. 

THE   JUNE   TRAINING 

"Attention  !    By  order  of  Capt.  L.  M.  Wright,  the  members 

of  THE    INVINCIBLES  and  THE  ST.   JOHNSBURY  LIGHT  INFANTRY  are 

hereby  notified  and  warned  to  appear  at  Capt.  Samuel  French's 
Hotel  at  the  Center  Village,  Tuesday,  June  5,  armed  and  equip* 
ped  as  the  law  directs,  for  military  duty.*' 

Under  such  a  call  as  this  the  militia  were  for  more  than  fifty 
years  in  the  habit  of  rallying  to  the  June  Training  held  on  the 
first  Tuesday  of  that  month  each  year.  This  was  for  inspection 
of  equipment  and  for  drill.  Each  man  "equipped  as  the  law  di- 
rects," was  to  have  a  flint-lock  musket  with  ram  rod  and  bayonet, 
one  extra  flint,  a  small  brush  to  clean  the  pan,  priming  wire  to 
keep  the  vent  hole  clear,  cartridge  box,  bullets,  knapsack  and 
powder  horn.  After  duly  inspecting  each  man,  the  Captain  was 
expected  to  treat ;  a  jug  of  rum  was  handed  to  the  man  at  the 
head  of  the  line  and  passed  from  man  to  man  till  each  one  had 
gotten  his  refreshment.  This  usage  was  done  away  with  after 
the  temperance  reform.  Training  Day  was  a  great  occasion,  as 
some  still  living  will  remember,  for  popular  attractions  were  less 
in  number  and  variety  than  now. 

"We  boys  awaited  the  day  with  eager  anticipation  ;  for  weeks  our  minds 
were  full  of  the  magnificent  scenes  coming — soldiers  with  muskets  and  bayo- 
nets ;  officers  with  terrible  voices,  their  plumes  waving  aloft  in  the  air ;  naked 
glittering  swords,  prancing  horses,  and  the  sound  of  drums  and  fifes.  The 
officers  wore  red  sashes,  huge  epaulets  and  stove-pipe  hats,  from  the  top  of 
which  their  plumes  went  aloft  as  much  as  eight  feet  from  the  ground.  They 
seemed  very  terrible,  shouting  orders  with  loud  voice  and  flourishing  their 
swords  in  the  air ;  but  if  you  saw  them  next  day  they  would  be  in  the 
burnt  piece,  sleeves  up  to  their  shoulders,  rolling  logs,  or  sitting  on  the  barn 
floor  with  an  old  sheep  in  their  laps,  struggling  against  the  sheep  shears." 

The  training  ground  would  be  at  the  Center  Village,  or  on 
the  Butler  Green,  the  old  Edson  Tavern  stand,  or  at  the  head   of 


168  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  Plain,  or  on  one  of  the  broad  fields  now  traversed  by  Summer 
and  Winter  streets.  The  farmers  flocked  in  with  their  families  ; 
stands  were  set  up  for  the  requisite  refreshments ;  sometimes 
there  would  be  the  accompaniment  of  ball  games  and  always  the 
wrestling  match  to  determine  who  was  to  stand  as  the  champion 
wrestler  for  the  year.  Now  and  then  an  unexpected  diversion 
would  be  executed,  as  when  one  time  on  a  bet,  a  dashing  young 
cavalry  officer  spurred  his  horse  thro  Major  Abel  Butler's  front 
door  and  up  to  the  top  of  the  hall  stairway,  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  family!  He  found  it  was  easier  to  prance  his  horse  up  a 
flight  of  stairs  than  to  get  him  safely  down  again.  It  was  on  the 
Butler  Green  that  a  keg  of  cherry  rum  emptied  of  its  fluid  con- 
tents was  left  after  training ;  the  cherries  were  thrown  out  on  the 
grass ;  boys  and  turkeys  helped  themselves  to  the  cherries  in  such 
quantities  that  both  alike  lost  their  equilibrium. 

Stephen  Hawkins  of  this  town  was  Major  General  of  the  State 
Militia  and  a  famous  drill  master.  His  soldierly  bearing,  his  pre- 
emptory  orders  given  with  a  mighty  voice,  his  punctilious  de- 
mand for  military  precision  and  decorum  gave  him  high  command, 
and  under  him  the  June  Training  was  no  play  performance.  At 
one  time  when  Gen.  Hawkins  was  in  Portland,  he  bought  red  and 
white  silk  for  a  flag.  His  daughters  made  it  up  in  their  home, 
stitching  the  thirteen  stars  on  the  blue  field  in  five-point  form  ; 
it  was  then  presented  to  the  troops  on  Training  Day.  This  was 
the  first  flag  of  which  there  is  record  in  the  town,  its  predecessors, 
if  any,  left  no  account  of  themselves. 

A    PIECE   OF   VILLAGE   ARTILLERY 

"Bill  Arnold,  son  of  Jonathan,  was  great  on  Fourths  of  July.  He  was 
depended  on  and  never  failed  to  furnish  the  Liberty  Pole  and  see  that  it 
was  duly  raised,  which  in  those  good  times  could  not  have  been  well  and 
patriotically  done  without  the  aid  and  inspiration  of  a  flask  of  new  rum. 

"Bill  had  charge  too,  of  that  famous  piece  of  village  artillery  known  as 
the  56,  a  square  block  of  iron  with  a  two  inch  hole  drilled  into  it  three  or 
four  inches  deep.  Its  name,  I  presume,  marked  its  weight ;  what,  I  wonder, 
has  become  of  it  ? 

"Bill's  brawny  arms  wielded  the  sledge  hammer  whose  ponderous  blows 
drove  home  the  loaded  fuse  of  cedar  wood,  and  the  terrific  explosions  that 
followed  the  touching  off  announced  by  their  number  the  year  of  our  inde- 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS  169 

pendence.  I  well  remember  the  fifty-one  sonorous  clangs  that  told  the  story 
and  kindled  anew  the  pride  and  patriotism  of  us  all  in  1827.  A  few  of  the 
old  revolutionary  veterans  were  present :  Major  Abel  Butler  and  perhaps 
Capt.  Barker  ;  others  too  who  had  smelt  English  powder  and  heard  the 
whistle  of  British  lead  in  the  more  recent  war  of  1812.  These  men  gave  great 
dignity  to  the  occasion."  S.  G. 

INDEPENDENCE    DAY 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War  the  anniversary  of  Indepen- 
dence was  a  much  more  important  day  than  in  these  recent  years 
which  are  more  liberally  sprinkled  with  holidays.  In  the  earlier 
time  too  it  was  made  a  more  serious  occasion.  There  were  noisy 
demonstrations  to  be  sure;  "a  cannon  suitable  for  celebrating  the 
Fourth"  and  an  elegant  national  flag  were  for  sale  by  Huxham 
Paddock  as  late  as  June,  1838  ;  ten  years  earlier  Bill  Arnold's 
famous  "56"  shook  the  Plain  with  its  mighty  detonations.  But 
in  addition  to  horns  and  gunpowder  there  were  frequent  observ- 
ances of  high  dignity  and  character.  These  would  include  reading 
of  the  proclamation  of  Independence,  an  eloquent  oration,  a  ban- 
quet with  many  addresses,  and  in  some  positions  of  honor  the 
presence  of  veteran  soldiers  of  the  revolutionary  army.  The  Cen- 
ter Village  maintained  a  Liberty  Pole  eighty  feet  high,  surmounted 
by  a  carved  eagle  whose  wings  spread  seven  feet ;  this  bird  of 
freedom  was  the  work  of  Freeman  Loring,  a  skilled  mechanic. 

The  Patriotic  Rally  at  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  1812  and 
the  juvenile  Cold  Water  Rally  of  1843  have  been  described  on 
other  pages  herein.  In  1839  the  Plain  village  was  treated  to  a 
Picnic  Party  on  Capt.  Martin's  grounds  provided  by  the  ladies, 
with  music  and  various  entertainments  in  the  Hall  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  Female  Academy. 

The  next  year,  1840,  St.  Johnsbury  with  her  cornet  band  and 
speakers  repaired  to  Lyndon  where  special  honors  were  tendered 
to  the  revolutionary  heroes.  Each  old  soldier  was  introduced  by 
name  with  an  account  of  his  personal  adventures  and  thrilling  in- 
cidents of  the  war.  The  octogenarian,  Mr.  Herrick,  was  present- 
ed as  a  man  who  after  five  years'  service  in  the  ranks  was 
captured  by  the  British  and  suffered  everything  but  death  on  the 


170  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Jersey  Prison  ship  where  11,000  victims  perished  from  cold  and 
starvation. 

1845.  A  Fourth  of  July  was  gotten  up  by  the  mechanics  of 
Fairbanks  Village,  thro  a  Committee  of  fifteen,  among  whom 
were  Noah  Eastman,  O.  W.  Baker,  J.  M.  Warner  and  others. 
The  people  were  first  assembled  in  the  maple  grove  west  of 
Sleeper's  River,  where  addresses  were  made  ;  then  the  Band  led 
the  way  to  the  grounds  of  Erastus  Fairbanks  where  400  plates 
were  provided.  During  the  dinner  there  were  discharges  of  artil- 
lery, and  afterward  toasts  and  speeches.  Among  the  toasts  were 
the  following  : 

"Our  Mechanics*,  may  they  ever  imitate  the  example  of  Franklin  and 
like  him  be  foremost  in  sustaining  the  liberties  of  our  country.  Our  Three 
Villages:  neighbors  in  location,  may  neighborly  feelings  ever  prevail,  and 
unity  of  interests  secure  unity  of  sentiment  and  action.  St.  Johnsbury 
Academy  :  now  in  her  third  year ;  while  assisting  our  youth  to  ascend  the 
hill  of  science  may  she  lead  them  to  the  Fountain  of  all  knowledge  and 
virtue.  Vermont :  may  Liberty  here  find  an  asylum  more  secure  than  where 
she  crouches  on  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  or  where  she  treads  the 
sequestered  glens  of  Scotland.  The  Fair:  they  nourish  our  youth  and 
comfort  our  age;  they  honor  us  abroad  and  delight  us  at  home. 
The  great  disturber  of  the  peace,  Alcohol,  did  not  appear  this  day.  A  more 
quiet  and  joyous  season  has  rarely  occurred  in  the  annals  of  the  Fourth  in 
our  town." 

1847.  The  Green  Mountain  Rangers  of  Danville  came  over 
and  acted  as  escort  at  a  Union  Temperance  celebration  at  Geo. 
W.  Ely's  Hotel.  There  were  the  usual  toasts  and  addresses  and 
a  dinner  on  the  field  now  traversed  by  Summer  street,  where  600 
people  regaled  themselves.  A  special  feature  of  the  close  of  the 
day  was  the  music  under  direction  of  John  H.  Paddock.  'All 
who  appreciate  music  as  a  medium  of  thought  and  feeling,  were 
grateful  for  the  rich  strains  that  floated  out  on  the  evening  air,  and 
as  the  stillness  of  night  drew  on,  the  softer  deeper  tones  of  the 
flutes  in  most  delicate  and  touching  compositions  continued  far 
into  the  night.     So  peacefully  ended  the  day." 

1848.  An  out-of-the-village  celebration  was  held  at  the  Four 
Corners.  Gen.  Stephen  Hawkins  presided.  Wm.  C.  Arnold  was 
marshal  and  Aaron  Farnham  toastmaster.  The  address  was  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Healy  ;  the  Declaration  was  read  by  James  R.  Stevens. 


DIVERSIONS  AND  DOINGS  171 

1851.  The  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  was 
greeted  with  special  observances  this  year,  the  national  salutes 
and  music  of  the  band  were  notable ;  the  display  of  flags  was  su- 
perior to  any  ever  seen  before ;  one,  raised  in  Fairbanks  Village 
was  made  by  the  young  ladies  of  that  community.  A  tent  was 
erected  on  the  Green  at  the  head  of  Main  Street,  capable  of  receiv- 
ing several  thousand  people,  but  the  violent  rains  made  it  useless, 
and  the  oration  by  Prof.  Sanborn  of  Dartmouth  College,  was 
given  in  the  meeting  house.  The  banquet,  planned  for  the  tent, 
was  served  at  crowded  tables  by  Landlord  Jennings  at  the  St. 
Johnsbury  House.  The  usual  series  of  toasts  followed,  to  which 
was  annexed  a  final  one  not  on  the  program.  One  paragraph  from 
the  reply  is  of  interest  to  us  of  later  years  as  illustrating  indus- 
trial conditions  in  the  town  at  that  time,  The  toast  was  as 
follows : — 

"Erastus  Fairbanks,  President  of  the  Day  and  his  two  Brothers— men 
who  have  carefully  weighed  the  perils  of  enterprise,  have  balanced  the  prob- 
abilities of  success,  have  held  the  scales  of  justice  even  to  their  neighbors ; 
and  have  furnished  by  their  long  continued  prosperity  a  new  confirmation  of 
the  Scripture  which  affirms  that  a  just  weight  and  balance  are  the  Lord's." 

In  his  reply  the  president  said  that  their  success  in  manu- 
facturing good  scales  was  very  largely  due  to  the  fidelity  of  the 
workmen.  The  firm  had  endeavored  to  draw  around  themselves 
men  with  whom  they  could  associate  ;  not  simply  competent  me- 
chanics, but  men  of  moral  worth  who  respected  themselves  and 
who  won  respect.  Such  men  could  be  relied  upon.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  scales  they  had  a  character  to  sustain,  the  interest  and 
the  reputation  of  the  manufacturers  were  their  own.  There  was 
mutual  confidence,  mutual  esteem,  an  honest  desire  and  effort  be- 
tween the  employers  and  their  workmen  to  consult  each  other's 
welfare  and  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  community  in 
which  they  shared  a  common  part. 

Notwithstanding  postponement  because  of  the  weather,  the 
fireworks  due  on  that  memorable  Fourth  blazed  out  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  7th  in  the  presence  of  6000  people.  There  were  20 
pieces  in  this  display,  making  altogether  the  "largest  and  grand- 
est exhibition  of  fire  works  ever  gotten  up  in   the  State  of  Ver- 


172  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

mont."  Among  the  designs  were  the  Maid  of  the  Mist,  Pride  of 
Aurora,  Saxon  Triplet,  Diamond  Cross  Fires,  Scroll  and  Lyre, 
Chinese  Pyramid,  Star  of  America. 

1859  A  Town  School  Parade  was  made  special  feature  of 
the  Fourth,  this  year.  Schools  from  the  north  part  of  the  town 
were  brought  down  on  the  morning  train,  and  escorted  up  Eastern 
Avenue  by  Active  Fire  Co.  No  4,  with  the  Cornet  Band.  At 
Col.  Merrill's  grounds,  the  Octagon,  all  were  treated  to  lemonade. 
Thence  to  the  Town  Hall,  where  under  Chief  Marshal  A.  G  . 
Chadwick,  all  schools  of  the  town  formed  with  their  teachers,  and 
with  banners  and  mottoes  paraded  the  streets,  600  strong.  At 
Arnold  Park  lemonade  was  served  by  Judge  C.  S.  Dana.  Return- 
ing to  the  Court  House  grounds  where  tables  were  spread,  a  col- 
lation was  attended  to  followed  by  short  addresses  and  strains 
from  the  Band.  In  the  evening  the  grounds  were  illuminated  with 
fire  works,  some  3000  spectators  present. 


XIII 


ON  THE  ROAD 


"Let  me  live  in  a  house  by  the  side  of  the  road." 


"It  is  both  good  form  and  worth  while  to  watch  the  road  ;  what  happens 
along  the  road  is  our  intimate  concern  ;  it  always  has  the  social  touch." 


HORSE  BACK  MAILS— POST  ROUTES— NEWSPAPERS — FAMOUS  POST 
RIDER — THE  OLD  STAGE  COACH — STAGE  DRIVERS — SWAPPING 
HORSES — A  NOTED  HORSE — FREIGHT  TEAMS — FLOATING  TEA 
CHESTS — A  POST  TOWNSHIP. 


MAILS  AND  POST   RIDERS 


"Well  do  we  remember,  Betsy,  when  the  Postman  carried  mails 
Ridin'  horseback  thro  the  forest,  'long  the  lonely  Injun  trails." 


Prior  to  1810  all  St.  Johnsbury  mail  matter  was  carried  to  and 
from  Danville  in  the  saddle  bags  of  post-riders,  or  by  accomo- 
dating travelers  who  might  be  going  up  and  down  the  valley.  The 
nearest  Post  Office  was  at  Newbury  which  handled  all  regular 
mails  of  towns  farther  north.  A  single  post-rider  brought  on 
horse  back  once  a  week  whatever  mail  was  addressed  to  settle- 
ments north  of  Haverhill  and  west  of  the  White  Mountains.  On 
July  3,  1803,  the  year  of  the  opening  of  a  Post  Office  in  this  town, 
the  records  show  that  only  three  southbound  letters  were  received 


174  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

at  Newbury  from  the  County  of  Caledonia,  which  then  included 
Orleans  and  Essex.  This  diminutive  budget  however  was  not  all 
due  to  sparseness  of  population.  It  was  costly  business.  Letter 
postage  to  distant  points  was  25  or  50  cents ;  to  Boston  it  was  a 
shilling,  marked,  as  on  a  pile  of  old  letters  now  before  me,  17 & 
cents,  and  several  days  were  required  to  get  it  there.  It  took 
eight  or  ten  days  when  our  first  Post  Office  was  established  on  the 
Plain  to  get  a  letter  to  New  York,  and  the  postage  was  25  cents. 

A  newspaper  was  something  of  a  luxury  when  the  postage  on 
it  was  liable  to  exceed  the  yearly  subscription  price.  Capt.  David 
Smith  of  St.  Johnsbury  in  1800  had  to  pay  63  cents  postage  for 
four  months'  delivery  of  the  Portsmouth  Weekly  Chronicle.  To 
avoid  expense  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  letters  and  news- 
papers of  the  day  were  carried  by  individuals  as  a  matter  of 
accommodation.  Any  one  going  from  this  town  "down  below" 
would  take  along  a  package  of  letters  to  be  distributed  on  the 
way.  Boston  merchants  consigning  goods  to  Fred  Phelps  or 
Amaziah  D.  Barber,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain,  would  enclose  in  their 
boxes  a  lot  of  letters  to  be  delivered  over  the  store  counters  here. 
Mr.  F.  P.  Wells,  who  gives  much  information  on  this  and  kindred 
topics,  states  that  frequently  the  people  in  these  northern  settle- 
ments would  hire  a  man  to  go  down  to  Newbury  with  their  weekly 
mail  and  bring  back  whatever  mail  was  addressed  to  their  town ; 
this  would  cost  less  than  the  postage. 

"Stiles  came  out  as  agent  for  getting  mail  thro  from  Boston 
to  Quebec.  Beattie  ran  from  Concord  to  Haverhill,  Sinclair  from 
Haverhill  to  Barnet,  Stevens  from  Barnet  to  Barton.  St.  Johns- 
bury folks  raised  $68  by  subscription  and  gave  Stevens  a  horse  in 
consideration  for  services.  One  winter  he  brought  to  St.  Johns- 
bury 150  Boston  newspapers  and  5  junk  bottles  of  rum.  Coming 
up  Lord's  Hill  he  sounded  a  blast  on  his  horn,  and  blew  it  tremen- 
dously all  the  length  of  the  Plain.  People  gathered  like  to  a  town 
meeting  and  the  papers  were  distributed.  On  the  return  trip  he 
distributed  Quebec  papers,  half  English  half  French,  contrary  to 
U.  S.  law." 

On  Sept.  1,  1799  a  mail  route  was  opened  from  Newbury  to 
Danville.     Samuel  Fuller  was  carrier ;  he  was  to  wait  ten  min- 


ON  THE  ROAD  175 

utes  for  the  sorting  of  the  mail,  after  which  a  man  would  mount 
his  horse  and  gallop  down  here  with  the  St.  Johnsbury  mail  in  his 
bags,  which  would  be  left  at  some  store  or  at  the  tavern  where 
people  would  call  for  it.  A  few  weeks  later  the  capabilities  of 
the  government  mail  service  were  impressively  demonstrated. 
President  Washington  died  at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  14th  day  of 
December.  The  extra  fast-going  mail  delivered  tidings  of  the 
event  at  Boston  on  the  tenth  day  thereafter,  December  24,  1799. 

Among  post-riders  the  best  known  was  Bill  Trescott,  the 
same  who  did  business  with  the  bear  in  1790,  as  narrated  on  a  pre- 
ceding page.  When  he  cantered  across  the  Plain  waking  the  quiet 
community  with  the  shrill  blast  of  his  long  horn  everybody  knew 
that  the  weekly  mail  had  arrived.  In  his  whimsical  way  Trescott 
exercised  gifts  other  than  those  of  brawn  and  daring.  He  con- 
structed clocks  and  Farmers  Almanacks  and  quite  dintinguished 
himself  in  versification.  His  muse  was  particularly  responsive  to 
the  touch  of  pecuniary  necessity ;  the  following  effusion  is  from 
the  North  Star  of  Jan.  23,  1813. 

THE    POST   RIDER   AND   THE   FARMER 

"How  little  do  the  Farmers  know 
What  we  poor  Posts  do  undergo  ; 

We're  forced  to  stem  the  wind  and  tide 

And  go  a-foot — when  we  can't  ride. 
We  force  our  way  thro'  drifts  of  snow 
To  let  the  Farmer  weekly  know 

What's  going  on  in  foreign  clime, 

That  he  his  business  safe  may  time. 
When  storms  come  on  we  can't  forbear 
The  whip  or  spur  to  good  old  mare  ; 

Whip  feet  and  hands  and  rub  each  ear 

To  keep  from  freezing  half  the  year. 
Meanwhile  the  Farmer  by  his  fireside  sits, 
Drinks  his  good  cider  and  eats  his  cakes. 

And  when  he  pleases  takes  his  tea  and  toast 

And  reads  the  news  brought  by  his  Post. 
But  he  that  would  his  conscience  free 
Will  give  his  Post  a  dish  of  tea  ; 

And  now  and  then  a  glass  of  sling 

To  make  his  horn  more  clearly  ring  ; 


176  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

And  pay  him  up  well  once  a  year, 
That  he  the  sheriff  may  not  fear 

When'er  he  meets  him  at  his  door— 

Here's  a  gentle  hint  once  more!0 

On  another  occasion  the  case  was  more  serious  as  appears  in 
the  following  lines  :— 

TUB   OLD   POST  RIDER   WILLIAM   TRESCOTT 

"Who  for  five  years,  with  zeal  most  fervent, 
Has  been  the  Public's  Humble  Servant, 

would  with  frankness  and  candor  inform  his  friends  and  patrons 
that  an  Execution  is  issued  against  him  of  considerable  amount, 
which  accrued  in  consequence  of  his  being  bondsman,  and  that 
unless  said  Execution  is  cancelled  during  the  life  of  it,  nothing 
but  the  confines  of  a  prison  await  him.  Therefore,  all  those  in- 
debted to  him  for  Newspapers  will  please"  etc.  etc.  *  *  "for 
punctuality  is  not  only  the  life  of  business,  but  adds  much  to  the 
harmony  of  Society.  Those  who  wish  to  pay  in  produce  may 
lodge  it  at  the  widow  Sophia  Stevens'  in  Barnet,  at  Clark's  store 
or  Jewett's  in  St.  Johnsbury,  at  John  Fry's  in  Concord,  and 
Blake's  in  Waterford." 

William  Trescott,  Post  Rider,  Dec.  24,  1812. 

Trescott's  route  that  year  extended  as  far  as  Littleton  and 
Lancaster.  The  history  of  that  town  records  that  he  was  then  "a 
man  of  over  sixty  years,  who  rode  a  little  short  black  horse,  also 
quite  old.  He  was  a  sieve  maker,  ^nd  used  to  carry  on  his  trips 
over  the  mail  route  a  lot  of  the  rims  for  his  sieves,  strung  on  the 
neck  of  his  horse.  He  was  a  quaint  figure  in  a  broad  rimmed  hat 
and  brown  coat,  mounted  upon  a  pair  of  saddle  bags  full  of  mail, 
his  overcoat  rolled  up  and  strapped  on  behind  his  saddle." 

THE  OLD  YELLOW  STAGE  COACH 

Aside  from  the  menagerie  wagons  no  more  picturesque  ob- 
ject has  ever  enlivened  our  highways  than  the  old  yellow  stage 
coach  and  four  in  the  era  of  its  proud  supremacy.     Stage  Coach 


ON  THE  ROAD  177 

Days  have  been  invested  by  Mrs.  Alice  Morse  Earle  with  romance 
and  historic  glow,  chiefly  of  colonial  times  preceding  the  birth  of 
our  town.  Just  when  the  first  stage  arrived  in  St.  Johnsbury  or 
what  was  the  style  of  it,  cannot  be  determined.  Its  advent,  some 
while  after  1810,  may  have  aroused  a  popular  interest  comparable 
to  that  of  the  first  train  of  cars  in  1851,  which  finally  displaced  it 
altogether. 

Beginning  January  1811,  the  Quebec  and  Boston  stage  left 
each  city  on  Monday  and  met  at  Stanstead  Plain.  St.  Johnsbury 
was  at  that  date  an  unimportant  town  and  may  never  have  seen 
this  long  distance  coach.  All  stages  from  whatever  quarter  cen- 
tered at  Haverhill  Corner,  the  most  important  distributing  point 
in  Northern  New  England.  A  paragraph  quoted  by  Mr.  F.  P. 
Wells  wakes  the  boyhood  memories  of  Stage  Coach  Days  in  this 
town  as  late  as  1849  : — 

"The  driver  witched  the  world  by  means  of  an  immensely  long  tin  horn 
which  announced  the  coming  of  the  stage  as  it  were  a  band  of  music.  I 
shall  not  forget  the  gamut  of  that  amazing  instrument,  the  tramp  of  the 
four  steaming  horses,  the  rattle  and  creak  of  the  coach  and  the  jingle  of  the 
chains  and  gear,  as  the  man  drove  by  us  boys  that  had  gone  out  on  a  sum- 
mer evening  to  meet  it ;  the  cool  and  tranquil  evening  disposing  us  often  to 
that  pastime." 

St.  Johnsbury  boys  of  the  forties  who  may  chance  to  read 
this  reminiscence  of  Arthur  Livermore,  will  recall  the  scene  most 
vividly  as  we  had  it  here,  and  how  the  loud  crack  of  the  driver's 
long  whip  on  reaching  the  Plain-level  at  the  South  end  might  be 
heard  from  the  steps  of  the  hotel.  The  coach  at  that  time  was  of 
the  standard  style,  painted  yellow,  carrying  six  or  eight  inside  and 
an  indeterminable  number  of  privileged  ones  high  up  on  the  deck 
with  the  driver,  the  valises  and  mail  bags.  Dan  Field,  JohnHawes, 
Seth  Ford,  C.  H.  Smith,  William  Fuller  were  among  the  men  who 
magnified  their  profession  in  presiding  over  a  stage  coach.  Mr. 
Harvlin  Paddock  told  this  anecdote  of  one  of  them  who 

PLAYED  THE  BUGLE 

"Dan  Field  was  a  driver  of  note.  He  also  played  the  bugle.  It  was  his 
custom  while  driving  across  the  Plain  to  let  his  horses  walk  while  he  rattled 


178  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

off  a  tune  on  his  bugle.  On  one  occasion  he  had  what  was  then  a  new  tune, 
"The  Wrecker's  Daughter,"  very  popular.  Passing  the  Huxham  Paddock 
house,  now  Alex.  Dunnett's,  he  thought  to  surprise  a  certain  young  man 
who  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  fine  player,  by  playing  this  piece.  After 
distinguishing  himself  in  this  manner  he  drove  on  to  Lyndon  where  the  stage 
stopped  over  night.  After  nightfall,  the  young  man  quietly  harnessed  his 
horse,  and  taking  his  bugle,  with  a  companion  drove  up  to  Lyndon.  Steal- 
ing under  the  window  of  the  room  where  he  knew  Field  would  be,  he  played 
"The  Wrecker's  Daughter"  in  a  style  that  would  admit  of  no  criticism.  The 
window  flew  open  and  Field  called  out:  "John,  I  give  up." 

That  David  Harum  was  conducting  horse  deals  about  this 
time  appears  from  the  following  story  told  by  Seth  Ford.  He  was 
then  owner  and  driver  of  a  stage  line  to  and  from  the  White 
Mountains.  At  the  same  time  John  Hawes  was  driving  up  and 
down  Passumpsic  valley.  They  met  one  day  near  St.  Johnsbury. 
Hawes  said,  "do  you  care  to  swap  horses?"  "I  don't  care  to  par- 
ticularly," said  Ford ;  "would  perhaps  for  $25."  Hawes  con- 
sidered that  too  much,  and  started  on.  Presently  he  called  back 
and  said,  "Seth!  it's  a  trade."  So  the  horses  were  unharnessed 
and  exchanged.  Some  weeks  after,  when  they  met,  Hawes  re- 
marked "Seth,  you  didn't  tell  me  that  that  horse  would  balk 
going  up  hill."  "No,"  said  Seth,  "you  didn't  ask  me  !"  It  was 
Seth  himself  who  related  this  incident  when  ninety  years  old,  to 
the  son-in-law  of  the  man  who  got  the  balky  horse. 

In  1825  a  stage  route  owned  and  driven  by  Mr.  Houghton  of 
Lyndon  ran  from  Haverhill  thro  this  town  to  Stanstead.  A  route 
from  Craftsbury  thro  Danville  and  St.  Johnsbury  to  Littleton  was 
driven  by  Mr.  May  of  Hardwick.  Cross  country  stages  from 
Montpelier  to  Lancaster  stopped  over  night  at  St.  Johnsbury  ; 
among  the  drivers  were  Stearns,  Farnesworth,  Greenleaf  and 
Hidden. 

A   STYLISH   HORSE 

Col.  Joseph  Battell  of  Middlebury,  author  of  the  "Morgan 
Horse  and  Register,"  and  of  the  "American  Stallion  Register," 
visited  St.  Johnsbury  to  verify  the  pedigree  of  the  Morgan  formerly 
owned  by  Gen.  Stephen  Hawkins.  To  his  satisfaction  he  found 
here  a  "missing  link  which  showed  that  such  distinguished  racers 


ON  THE  ROAD  179 

as  Old  Pilot,  J.  I.  C.  and  Maud  S.  were  descendants  of  the  Haw- 
kins Morgan."  The  rank  and  quality  of  this  horse  appear  on  the 
pages  of  the  books  above  named,  from  which  the  following  ex- 
cerpts are  taken,  contributed  by  different  writers. 

This  horse  was  foaled  in  1806,  the  property  of  Moses  Melvin 
of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  got  by  the  original  Justin  Morgan.  When 
three  years  old  he  was  bought  by  Oney  Hawkins  of  Goss  Hollow 
who  was  Captain  of  a  troop  and  who  used  him  as  a  parade  horse. 
Five  years  later  he  sold  the  horse  to  his  cousin  Stephen,  who  be- 
came Major  General  of  the  militia.  Sometime  after  1820  the 
horse  was  taken  to  Stanstead  and  there  sold  to  Canadian  parties. 

"The  Hawkins  Horse  was  black,  about  15  hands  high  ;  shoulders,  back 
and  loins  excellent.  He  carried  his  head  high  ;  had  a  bold,  resolute,  vigor- 
ous style  of  action  (in  this  like  his  master) ,  a  smart  trotter  and  a  good  run- 
ner. His  eye  was  a  little  fierce  in  expression,  he  was  inclined  to  be  cross, 
not  so  tractable  as  the  rest.  He  was  one  of  the  best  acting  and  finest  looking 
horses  under  the  saddle  ever  in  the  state. 

"The  Hawkins  horse  was  led  out  before  the  Company  at  June  Training 
in  1829  ;  they  called  him  20  years  old  then.  He  was  a  beauty.  I  don't  know 
as  I  have  seen  a  handsomer  horse  since.  He  was  a  perfect  horse  in  every 
spot  and  place.  He  wasn't  much  over  900,  about  14  hands  without  shoes, 
had  a  perfect  form  and  carried  himself  just  as  pretty  as  ever  you  saw  a 
horse  ;   dark  brown  and  a  bright  handsome  coat. 

"My  father  had  a  mare  got  by  the  Hawkins  horse  from  St.  Johnsbury, 
Vt.  She  raised  colts  up  to  and  when  27  years  old  that  were  better  horses  than 
I  can  raise  now  from  Wilkes  and  Morgan  combined. 

"I  remember  the  Hawkins  Horse  well.  He  was  not  over  medium  size, 
fine  looking,  very  dark  brown,  not  black,  as  I  think.  I  remember  some  very 
good  colts  of  his.  One  of  his  colts  was  called  Black  Hawkins.  I  saw  Black 
Hawkins  run  with  three  other  horses  and  he  came  out  a  great  distance 
ahead.  It  was  at  some  public  doings  in  our  village.  I  have  heard  older 
people  than  myself  speak  of  his  splendid  action." 

The  Morgan  Horse  and  Register,  Vol.  I.  pp.  127-130,  156-159. 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Hub,"  Boston,  1895,  remarked— "There  are  some 
extra  fine  horses  up  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. — among  them  a  three  year  old  by 
Quartermaster ;  Cobden  2nd  a  bull  dog  of  a  race  horse  ;  and  another  by 
Cobden  Jr.  of  a  Morgan  mare  which  has  all  the  speed  and  beauty  of  her 


180  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

race.      There  are  others  in  that  town  which  a  horseman  can  spend  a  whole 
day  in  looking  over — good  ones." 

TRANSPORTATION    TEAMS 

Until  1850  all  farm  produce  and  manufactured  products  were 
hauled  in  ox  teams  or  two  or  four  or  six  horse  teams  to  Portland 
or  Boston,  the  two  principal  markets.  The  minimum  time  to 
Portland  when  the  roads  were  good  was  five  days,  the  round  trip 
to  Boston  would  be  three  or  even  four  weeks.  Teams  bound  for 
Portland  used  to  put  up  at  Hibbard's  or  Gage's  tavern  in  the  East 
Village.  The  teamsters  carried  along  their  own  dinners  of  bread 
and  doughnuts,  meat,  pork  and  beans  cooked  before  leaving 
home ;  supper,  lodging  and  breakfast  they  got  at  the  taverns, 
where  the  women  had  to  be  up  two  hours  before  daylight  to  have 
breakfast  served  and  the  teams  off  promptly  at  daybreak.  The 
great  wagons  were  canvas  roofed ;  sometimes  there  would  be  one 
or  two  going  together ;  then  again  a  train  of  them  half  a  mile 
long  from  different  towns,  loaded  with  pork,  potatoes,  poultry, 
butter,  cheese,  eggs,  lard,  maple  sugar,  grain,  flax,  pelts,  potash, 
from  the  farms,  or  articles  of  domestic  manufacture.  Returning 
the  teams  would  bring  whatever  the  people  wanted  for  household 
use,  salt,  codfish,  mackerel,  molasses,  rum,  etc.,  or  after  stores 
were  running,  whatever  would  sell  well  in  the  town. 

"When  the  teams  arrived  from  the  city  there  was  great 
curiosity,  men  and  boys  were  on  hand  to  help  unload,  women  and 
girls  to  get  a  first  glimpse  at  the  pretty  calicos  and  dress  goods, 
and  happy  was  the  one  who  could  afford  to  buy  something  from 
these  imported  fabrics." 

Very  heavy  teams  were  required  for  transporting  the  products 
of  the  Paddock  iron  works  and  the  Fairbanks  stove,  plow,  and 
scale  works.  It  was  a  tedious  process.  George  Green  used  to 
start  out  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  drive  to  Franconia  ; 
in  order  to  save  time  he  would  pile  a  quantity  of  snow  on  his 
sled  and  load  on  the  pigs  of  iron  hot  from  the  furnace.  Thou- 
sands of  tons  of  iron  ore  or  pig  were  hauled  in  to  the  town  from 
the  Franconia  or  other  mines,  then  hauled  out  again  after  being 
wrought  in  to  the  finished  product.   This  problem  of  double  trans- 


ON  THE  ROAD  181 

portation  of  so  much  iron  by  horse  teams  over  bad  roads  and  long 
distances,  grew  to  be  so  acute  that  for  many  years  the  transport- 
ing of  the  scale  works  to  some  point  nearer  the  cities  was 
seriously  considered.  It  was  this  more  than  anything  else  that 
finally  demanded  and  secured  the  construction  of  the  Passumpsic 
Railroad,  and  seventeen  years  later,  of  the  Lake  road  as  a  com- 
peting line. 

THE   TEA   GOES   OVERBOARD 

One  day  in  1837  an  eight  horse  team  from  the  North  arrived 
at  the  upper  bridge  of  the  Center  Village,  being  on  the  way  from 
Montreal  to  Boston.  That  bridge  was  built  in  1810,  in  the  man- 
ner narrated  on  page  52.  It  was  set  on  mud  sills  and  trestle 
work  with  a  string  of  logs  along  the  outside  edges  "to  protect 
the  travel."  When  the  eight  horse  team  was  part  way  across, 
something  happened  and  the  wagon  load  was  dumped  into  the 
river. 

Part  of  the  cargo  consisted  of  chests  of  tea.  At  that  time 
Morse  and  Ide  were  running  a  starch  factory  near  the  river  bank. 
The  drying  racks  of  this  establishment  were  quickly  cleaned  off, 
the  chests  were  fished  out  from  the  water  and  the  tea  was  spread 
upon  the  racks  ;  after  which  the  fires  were  started  and  the  tea  went 
thro  a  new-method  drying  process.  The  chests  were  refilled  and 
the  eight  horses  made  a  delivery  of  St.  Johnsbury-cured  Young 
Hyson  tea  in  Boston.  This  tea  transportation  was  interesting, 
but  not  so  stimulating  to  oratory  as  the  project,  years  after,  of  a 
cross-country  railroad  ;  over  which  we  were  told  to  see  in  imagi- 
nation trunk  line  trains  loaded  with  tea  for  Queen  Victoria,  en 
route  from  Vancouver  to  London  via  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 

Near  the  place  where  the  tea  was  steeped  in  1837  the  eggs 
were  scrambled  at  a  later  date,  when  a  car  load  of  eggs  on  a  de- 
railed train  caught  fire  and  the  Center  Village  youngsters  picked 
out  eggs  that  were  done  to  suit  the  most  exacting  taste. 

ST.    JOHNSBURY   GAZETTED   1824 

How  this  town  stood  on  the  first  Gazetteer  of  Vermont,  pub- 
lished by  Zadok  Thompson  at  Montpelier  in  1824,  is  seen  in  the 
following  extracts  : — 


182  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"St.  Johnsbury,  a  post  township  in  Caledonia  County.  It  lies  31  miles 
northeast  from  Montpelier,  and  26  north  from  Newbury.  The  surface  of  the 
township  is  uneven,  but  it  contains  no  mountains.  There  is  a  decent  meet- 
ing house  near  the  center  of  the  township,  erected  in  1803.  The  denomina- 
tions are  principally  Congregationalists,  kestorationers  and  Christians. 

"St.  Johnsbury  Plain  is  situated  about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  the 
Center.  Here  is  a  pleasant  village  containing  several  stores,  a  tavern,  post- 
office  and  several  handsome  dwellings.  The  physicians  are  Abner  Mills,  Z. 
K.  Pangborn,  Morrill  Stevens,  Jerry  Dickerman.  Attorneys,  Ephraim  Pad- 
dock and  James  Stuart. 

"There  are  in  the  town  15  school  districts,  12  school  houses,  one  oil  mill, 
one  furnace,  one  fulling  mill,  four  grist  and  seven  saw  mills,  three  carding 
machines,  two  tanneries,  two  potteries  and  three  distilleries." 


XIV 


A  NEWSPAPER 


DOCTOR  JUPITER  —  WHIG  JOURNALISM  —  HERALD  GLEANINGS  — 
MILLS  AFLOAT — GENERAL  JACKSON — AN  ILL-SHAPED  PATCH — 
POOSOOMSUCK — ENTERTAINMENT — THE  ARNOLD  PRIVILEGE — 
PASSUMPSIC  CANAL — FOR  YOUNG    LADIES. 


DOCTOR   JUPITER 

luther  jewett,  m.  d.,  rev.  and  hon.,  as  an  octogenarian 
who  had  variously  and  faithfully  served  his  generation,  was  en- 
titled to  some  suitable  appellative,  but  what  suggested  the  one 
above  given  is  not  now  known.  "It  may  have  been  his  trenchant 
pen,  not  always  dipped  in  honey."  He  was  born  in  Canterbury, 
Conn.,  1772,  graduated  with  the  Dartmouth  College  class  of  1792, 
studied  medicine  and  began  practice  in  St.  Johnsbury  in  1800.  In 
1817  he  represented  the  north-east  district  of  Vermont  in  Con- 
gress, and  took  his  seat  by  the  side  of  Daniel  Webster,  then  in 
his  second  term.  Urged  by  the  people  of  the  old  First  Church  to 
qualify  as  a  preacher,  he  received  ordination  in  1818,  and  his 
Thanksgiving  sermon  of  that  year  is  the  first  historical  document 
relating  to  this  town  ever  printed.  He  was  pastor  in  Newbury 
1821-28;  editor  of  the  Farmer's  Herald  St.  Johnsbury  3828-32 ; 
member  of  the  Vermont  Constitutional  Convention  1836 ;  died  in 
1860  aged  87  years.  His  sons  Ephraim  and  Samuel  were  well 
known  merchants  in  the  town. 

One  of  his  associates  in  Congress  wrote — "To  us  the  name 
of  Luther  Jewett  will  always  recall  some  of  the  most  pleasant 
memories  of  life.     He  was  eminently  good  and  scrupulously  just 


184  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

in  all  his  ways.  In  a  delightful  village  unsurpassed  for  its 
picturesque  beauty  by  any  in  New  England,  his  bright  example 
has  contributed  largely  for  half  a  century  to  the  development  of 
its  character  for  enterprise  as  well  as  for  moral  and  intellectual 
elevation.  On  revisiting  St.  Johnsbury  a  few  years  since,  we 
sought  out  the  venerable  old  man  at  his  retired  house.  His 
snowy  locks  and  patriarchal  mein  lentimpressiveness  to  his  words 
as  he  conversed  of  current  events  with  the  zest  of  one  who  was 
never  content  to  be  a  mere  spectator  of  the  world's  progress.  It 
was  our  last  meeting.     We  left  him 

"     *    *    *     in  a  green  old  age, 
And  looking  like  the  oak,  worn,  but  still  steady 
Amidst  the  elements,  while  younger  trees 
Fell  fast  around  him." 

"Daniel  Webster  came  to  St.  Johnsbury  in  1830,  and  called  to  pay  his 
respects  to  Dr.  Jewett,  his  former  companion  in  public  life.  Here  for  the 
first  time  we  saw  the  great  defender  of  the  constitution,  then  in  his  prime. 
The  greeting  of  the  distinguished  Statesman  and  the  Doctor  was  marked  by 
the  cordiality  of  old  friendships  still  cherished  by  each." 

C.  L.  K.  in  the  Lowell  Citizen 

the'  farmer's  herald 

"The  most  wonderful  thing  of  the  age— the  introduction  of  Caliban  to 
Cadmus  ;  Caliban  the  farm  hand,  the  clod-hopper,  the  horny-handed  la- 
borer, has  met  the  keen  old  Cadmus  inventor  of  letters  and  is  beginning  to 
read.  Formerly  the  newspaper  was  not  for  him,  now  he  is  reading  it  and 
beginning  to  think  for  himself."  Swinton 

On  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Academy  stood  a  small 
building  in  which  was  an  old-fashioned  hand  printing  press.  Here 
was  issued  on  the  8th  day  of  July  1828,  the  first  number  of  the 
farmer's  herald,  a  weekly  Whig  journal,  edited  by  Dr.  Luther 
Jewett,  and  continued  till  the  summer  of  1832.  A  few  words 
from  the  editor's  announcement  will  indicate  his  thought  and  pur- 
pose. 

"The  subscriber  proposes  publishing  on  St.  Johnsbury  Plain  a  news- 
paper to  be  called  the  farmer's  herald  .Our  free  republican  institutions 
can  be  maintained  no  longer  than  intelligence  and  virtue  generally  prevail. 
*    *    It  will  be  a  prominent  object  of  this  paper  to  furnish  such  facts  as  to 


A  NEWSPAPER  185 

the  character  of  men  and  measures  that  its  readers  can  understanding^ 
judge  for  themselves.  *  *  Besides  current  news,  Religion,  Morality,  Poli- 
ticks, American  Biography,  Agriculture  and  Mechanical  Arts  will  be  consid- 
ered. Nothing  of  a  religious  kind  will  be  admitted  which  favors  one 
denomination  at  the  expense  of  another.  The  editor  will  support  no  measure 
of  any  man  in  public  life  further  than  its  own  intrinsic  merits  will  justify." 

Luther  Jeiuett 

In  a  later  issue  he  says  :  "lottery  advertisements  are  rigidly  excluded; 
as  to  this  we  have  a  squeamish  conscience,  much  as  we  need  the  fee  and 
would  like  to  oblige  our  friends.  Also  we  shall  reject  every  expression  savor- 
ing in  the  least  of  profaneness,  or  that  is  not  in  good  English." 

Being  an  educated  man,  a  former  member  of  Congress,  and 
always  solicitous  for  the  public  welfare,  Dr.  Jewett  was  well 
fitted  for  the  duties  of  a  journalist.  Under  his  able  and  vigorous 
management  The  Farmer's  Herald  became  influential  in  shaping 
public  opinion  on  current  issues.  Slavery,  intemperance,  anti- 
masonry  were  fearlessly  but  fairly  discussed  ;  and  to  moderate  the 
fiery  zeal  of  the  latter  which  just  then  was  at  fever  heat,  a  weekly 
sheet  entitled  The  Friend  was  issued  during  the -year  1829.  Full 
files  of  these  papers  are  in  the  Athenaeum. 

In  July  1832,  the  Doctor,  under  pressure  of  exacting  duties  re- 
linquished the  publication  of  the  Herald  to  Samuel  Eaton  Jr., 
who  changed  the  name  to  The  Weekly  Messenger  and  Connecticut 
and  Passumpsic  Valley  Advertiser.  Its  former  dignity  and  character 
also  underwent  a  serious  change ;  it  began  to  decline  and  in 
fifteen  months  expired.  The  press,  which  must  have  been  a  good 
one  in  its  day,  was  sold  to  the  Montpelier  Journal  for  $75, 
"less  than  a  tenth  of  its  original  cost."  After  this  St.  Johnsbury 
had  no  paper  of  its  own  till  Mr.  Chadwick  established  The  Cale- 
donian in  1837. 

Newspapers  of  old  time  were  singularly  barren  of  local 
items,  excepting  advertisements.  The  village  store  was  then  the 
universal  news-hopper ;  from  which,  after  suitable  grinding  of 
small  talk  the  several  events  of  the  day  would  be  promptly  and 
properly  distributed.  We  turn  eagerly  to  the  columns  of  an  1830 
paper,  but  search  in  vain  for  local  history.  Out  of  four  years  of 
newspaper  printed  in  this  town,  1828-1832,  about  the  only  para- 


186  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

graphs  which  throw  any  light  on  contemporary  life  are  included  in 
the  following 

GLEANINGS    FROM    FARMER'S   HERALD 

"Let  historians  give  details  of  charters  and  foundations  of  our  Townes. 
I  content  myself  with  skipping  from  bush  to  bush  for  less  significant 
matters."  A  Farmer* s  Letters,  1768 

July  28,  1828.  The  Columbian  Guards  are  notified  to  appear  at  Capt. 
Saml.  French's  Tavern  in  the  Center  Village,  Aug.  2,  at  1  o'clock  precisely 
armed  with  Guns  and  Bayonets  for  military  duty  under  command  of  Capt. 
Freeman  Loring. 

July,  1828.  Capt.  Hezekiah  Martin  will  supply  Military  Goods — Cadet 
Caps,  white  Plumes  with  red  tops,  Sockets,  Tassels,  Scales,  Eagles  and 
Braid,  Gilt  Spurs,  Stirrup  Irons,  Bits,  Buckles  and  Ornaments  necessary  to 
accommodate  officers  of  every  grade  agreeably  to  the  order  of  General 
Hawkins. 

Aug.  9,  1828.  St.  Johnsbury  Female  Academy.  The  next  term  com- 
mences 28th  inst.  and  will  close  at  the  end  of  15  weeks. 

Aug.  28,  1828.     Bad  and  broken  Banks  posted  :  forty  six  in  all. 

Sept.  9,  1828.  On  Friday,  5th  inst.  the  heavy  rains  ceased  and  the  work 
of  desolation  began.  On  Sleeper's  River  the  west  branch  of  the  Passumpsic, 
five  bridges,  one  saw  mill,  one  grist  mill,  one  carding  machine  were  swept 
away.  A  building  occupied  by  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  was  carried  off  and 
washed  in  pieces.  Very  heavy  damage  was  done  to  various  other  works  of 
this  ingenious,  enterprising  and  unfortunate  company  of  mechanics,  who 
last  winter  suffered  heavy  loss  from  two  fires.  Their  loss  from  this  flood  will 
be  $1000. 

Harvard  College.  Instruction,  books,  board  and  room,  wood  and  other 
expenses  at  this  College  amount  to  $200  a  year. 

1828.  National  Ticket.  For  President— John  Quincy  Adams  of  Mass. 
State  Ticket.     For  Governor— Saml.  C.  Crafts  of  Craftsbury. 

Oct.  7,  1828.  In  the  north  part  of  the  town  two  buildings  were  erected 
last  week  without  the  use  of  ardent  spirit.  Both  the  employers  and  workmen 
were  well  pleased,  and  they  deserve  the  thanks  of  all  friends  of  temperance 
and  humanity. 

Nov.  18,  1828.  The  subscribers  intend  to  relinquish  the  making  of 
wagons  and  they  offer  for  sale  their  stock  of  seasoned  timber,  consisting  of 
white  oak  spokes  for  Carts,  Wagons  and  Gigs ;  white  ash  plank  ;  Cart, 


A  NEWSPAPER  187 

Gig  and  Wagon  hobs  ;  slit   work,    etc.;  also,    the   shop   and   apparatus  for 
Turning,  Boring,  Sawing,  etc.,  and  a  separate  Water  Privilege. 

E.  and  T.  Fairbanks,  St.  Johnsbury  Iron  Works 

Dec.  2,  1828.  For  sale  at  the  Medical  Store,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain— New 
Testaments  and  a  new  series  of  Questions  for  S.  S.  Lessons  ;  also  Hooper's 
Pills,  Steer's  Opodeldoc,  Snow's  Itch  Ointment,  Cephalic  Snuff,  etc. 

Dec.  2,  1828.  Mr.  Printer  : — There  is  a  subject  that  troubles  me.  I  am 
no  hand  to  write  for  the  papers,  and  I  don't  suppose  you  will  love  to  print 
what  I  write  ;  but  I  wish  you  would  once  and  I  guess  that  will  be  all  I  shall 
want.  *  *  I  think  General  Jackson  is  a  bad  man  and  a  murderer.  But  in 
this  church  that  I  belong  to,  there  are  two  or  three  brothers  that  will  stick  by 
General  Jackson.  They  insist  that  he  is  the  best  man  in  America  for  Presi- 
dent. *  *  Now  Mr.  Printer,  if  you  are  willing,  I  want  you  should  ask  all 
the  ministers  to  meet  in  some  place  and  tell  our  church  to  turn  out  all  mem- 
bers that  won't  say  that  they  ought  to  hate  General  Jackson,  and  that  they 
will  never  have  anything  more  to  do  with  him  as  long  as  they  live. 

Yours  to  serve, 

A  Friend  to  the  Church 

Dec.  9,  1828.  Mr.  Printer  :— I  see  that  a  friend  to  the  church  in  the  Her- 
ald of  Dec.  2,  wishes  everyone  turned  out  of  the  Church  who  will  not  say 
that  he  ought  to  hate  General  Jackson,  etc.  Now  I  am  a  Jacksonian  and  I 
have  as  good  a  right  to  vote  for  him  as  my  friend  has  to  vote  for  J.  Q. 
Adams,  and  as  good  a  right  to  my  place  in  the  church,  though  my  friend 
may  think  otherwise.  I  think  he  is  possessed  of  a  little  prejudice  and  a  large 
portion  of  bigotry.  Minimus 

Note.  Having  given  both  men  opportunity  to  free  their  minds  the  Edi- 
tor closed  the  discussion  with  some  sensible  remarks. 

Feb.  7,  1829.  One  Cent  Reward  !  ran  away  !  From  the  subscriber  on 
the  7th  inst.  Er  C.  Drake!  This  is  to  forbid  all  persons  harboring  or 
trusting  him.  Jonathan  Baldwin,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain. 

Feb.  12,  1829.  Joseph  Stiles  will  carry  on  the  Hatting  business  on  the 
most  improved  plan  ;  latest  fashions  and  fair  prices.  Wanted,  a  journeyman 
Hatter.     2  doors  south  of  the  Printing  Office. 

Spanish  Pistareen  Coins  are  in  circulation  ;  Head  Pistareens  at  20  cents. 
Cross  ones  at  18 cents  ;    they  are  thick  as  Grasshoppers. 

Caution.  Those  persons  who  are  in  the  habit  of  taking  popular  reme- 
dies such  as  Screw  Auger  Poke,  Welmigzerrel,  Hot  Drops  and  Tom  Cat 
should  be  informed  that  the  Essence  of  Gridiron  being  a  vegeto-mineral 
compound  is  incompatible  with  the  above  remedies. 

April  8,  1829.  James  Ramsey  has  now  on  sale  a  few  genuine  Flax  Spin- 
ning Wheels,  commonly  called  the  Custom  Wheels,  with  improved  oil-stained 


188  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

red  Rims  22  inches  ;    Cranks  and  Spindles  best  hard   Swede  stock,  price  $4 
cash  or  $4.50  barter. 

June  10,  1829.  A  few  days  ago,  the  frame  of  a  heavily  timbered  dwelling 
house  28  by  38  feet  with  shed  was  raised  in  this  village  without  ardent  spirits, 
in  less  than  three  hours.  Mr.  Henry  Little  was  the  master  workman.  All 
went  pleasantly  and  the  frame  bears  ample  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  the 
work. 

May  6,  1829.  st.  johnsbury.  As  to  our  own  town  it  is  an  ill-shaped 
patch  of  the  world,  neither  exactly  like  a  hatchet,  nor  a  heater.  If  squared 
its  sides  would  be  a  little  short  of  six  miles  long.  It  lies  in  the  Coos  country 
about  half  way  between  the  Connecticut  and  the  highlands  that  send  their 
waters  into  the  Onion  and  LaMoille.  We  have  a  river  of  our  own  with  beau- 
tiful intervales  and  excellent  water  privileges,  and  on  its  two  branches  there 
are  fine  falls.  But  we  have  filled  more  space  than  our  little  importance  will 
justify.  Another  time  we  may  resume  our  description.  (Posterity  regrets 
that  it  was  not  resumed.) 

June  3,  1829.  A  most  gratifying  announcement.  Ardent  spirit  is  to  be 
wholly  banished  from  the  store  of  Messrs.  Clarks  and  Bishop  on  St.  Johns- 
bury  Plain.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  them  need  not  be  told  that  no 
store  in  the  County  is  occupied  by  gentlemen  of  higher  respectability. 

April  15,  1829.  Died  at  Putney,  aged  85,  Capt.  Daniel  Jewett,  father  of 
the  editor  of  this  paper.  It  belongs  to  others  to  speak  of  his  virtues — to  his 
son  to  imitate  them. 

August  19,  1829.  Married,  Mr.  Cotton  R.  Simson  to  Miss  Sarah  R. 
Marble. 

An  old  calculation  of  gain  and  of  loss 

Proves  a  stone  that  is  rolling  will  gather  no  moss  ; 

A  happy  expedient  has  lately  been  thot  on, 

By  which  Marble  may  gather  and  cultivate  Cotton. 

Subscriptions  taken  at  our  office  for  The  Bower  of  Taste,  The  Souvenir, 
The  Casket,  The  New  York  Mirror,  the  Ladies'  Literary  Gazette. 

Dec.  9,  1829.  poousoomsuck.  A  great  orthographical  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  name  of  the  pleasant  little  river  on  which  we  have  the  happiness 
to  be  located.  It  formerly  abounded  in  vowels  according  to  the  idiom  of  the 
red  men's  language.  Those  who  first  committed  it  to  writing  spelled  it 
Poousoomsuck,  from  the  Indian  pronounciation.  Such  is  the  spelling  in 
William's  History  of  Vt.  1794.  The  first  settlers  here  on  the  river  wrote  it 
Passumpsic  ;  thus  sacrificing  euphony  for  saving  the  pen  labor  of  two 
letters — a  poor  compensation. 

Dec.  23,  1829.  An  infant  school  was  commenced  in  this  village  a  few 
days  since  under  superintendence  of  Miss  Dascomb.  As  yet  it  bids  fair  to 
equal  the  most  sanguine  expectations. 


A  NEWSPAPER  189 

Jan.  20,  1830.  Passumpsic  Hotel.  Darius  Harvey  would  inform  his 
friends  and  the  public  that  he  has  opened  a  housb  of  entertainment  in 
the  new  buildings  recently  erected  for  the  purpose.  His  stables  shall  be 
continually  supplied  with  the  first  rate  Hay  and  Provender;  his  table  ever 
furnished  in  good  style  with  Fat  Living ;  and  his  bar  will  be  filled  with  the 
choicest  cordials,  wholesome  and  refreshing  beverages,  and  in  case  of  neces- 
sity a  Drop  of  the  Ardent. 

Feb.  2,  1830.  Wrought  nails  are  now  made  in  Rhode  Island  by  machin- 
ery moved  by  steam,  and  are  said  to  be  fully  equal  to  those   made  by  hand. 

March  20,  1830.  The  proprietors  of  the  celebrated  Waterfall  of  the  Pas- 
sumpsic River  in  St.  Johnsbury,  known  by  the  name  of  The  Arnold  Privilege, 
being  desirous  to  encourage  manufactures  and  mechanics  of  correct,  regular 
and  steady  habits  to  establish  themselves  at  said  Falls,  do  hereby  give  notice 
that  they  will  sell  or  lease  privileges  of  water  and  house  lots. 

James  Ramsey,  Huxham  Paddock,  Hiram  Jones. 

June  30,  1830.  Wooden  Legs!  exact  imitations,  manufactured  by 
Stephen  Badger  in  the  Post  Office,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain — two  fantastic  legs 
displayed. 

July  1,  1830.  Nine  letters  advertised  in  St.  Johnsbury  Plain  Post  Office  ; 
one  for  Mr.  Huxham  Paddock,  one  for  the  widow  Polly  Ripley,  one  for 
Messrs.  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks. 

Fourth  of  July.  In  the  flourishing  East  Village  of  this  town  a  large  as- 
sembly was  addressed  by  Rev.  J.  Johnson;  good  things  were  plenty;  best 
of  all  no  liquid  fire  on  the  tables,  and  very  few  sipped  from  the  tavern   bar. 

Nov.  30,  1830.  Married,  at  the  house  of  Ephraim  Paddock  Esq.  Miss 
Ann  C.  Giles,  Principal  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Female  Academy  to  Emory 
Washburn  Esq.  Counseller  at  Law,  Worcester,  Mass. — afterward  Gov. 
Washburn  of  Massachusetts. 

Nov.  3,  1830.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Citizens  of  this  and  neighboring 
towns  at  A.  M.  Rice's  Hotel,  Oct.  29,  it  was  resolved  that  the  route  from 
Connecticut  River  up  the  Passumpsic  would  offer  greater  facilities  than  any 
other  for  constructing  a  Canal  to  connect  with  Lake  Memphremagog ;  and 
the  increasing  prosperity  of  the  country  through  which  said  Canal  would 
pass,  will  at  no  distant  time  justify  the  investment  of  stock  in  such  an  enter- 
prise. 

Feb.  2,  1831.  Look  out  Passumpsic!  Our  neighbors  east  on  the  Con- 
necticut are  wide  awake  !  If  those  of  us  who  live  on  the  Passumpsic  do  not 
keep  equal  pace,  the  manufacturing  and  traveling  now  so  rapidly  increasing, 
will  leave  our  pleasant  valley,  to  our  great  mortification. 

Sept.  29,  1830.  19  days  later  news  from  Europe.  The  Revolution  is  ac- 
complished and  the  Duke  of  Orleans  is  declared  King  of  France! 


190  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

June  22,  1831.  The  Steamboat  John  Ledyard  from  Hartford  has  arrived 
at  Wells  River. 

Aug.  24,  1831.  The  Circus  saw  fit  to  come  parading  into  our  quiet  little 
village  on  the  last  Sabbath.  Legislative  enactments  are  needed  to  guard  the 
community  against  these  baleful  influences. 

Oct.  6,  1831.  Orsamus  Fyler  having  been  by  his  misfortune  and  the 
caprice  of  his  creditors  driven  from  his  business  to  the  jail  limits,  announces 
that  he  is  there  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  wooden  clock  making.  He  can 
now  furnish  small  mantle  piece  eight  day  clocks  superior  in  all  respects  to 
any  others  made  in  New  England. 

Feb.  22,  1832.  Important.  From  sources  on  which  implicit  reliance  may 
be  placed  it  is  learned  that  bonnets  with  narrow  brims  will  next  season  be  all 
the  ton. 

May  12,  1832.  Married.  Mr.  Hull  Curtis  and  Miss  Lucy  Barney.  This 
notice  was  accompanied  by  as  delicious  and  bountiful  a  loaf  as  was  ever  ex- 
perimented upon  by  tooth  and  eye. 

St.  Johnsbury  Female  Academy.  This  Institution  will  be  open  for  the 
reception  of  Young  Ladies  on  Monday  7th  of  May  next,  under  the  care  and 
direction  of  Miss  Almira  Taylor.  The  subscribers  are  happy  to  have  it  in 
their  power  to  assure  the  public  that  the  reputation  which  the  school  has 
heretofore  acquired  will  in  no  wise  suffer  in  the  hands  of  Miss  Taylor.  She 
has  been  employed  by  the  Board  of  Trust  at  the  Ipswich  Seminary,  Mass., 
assisting  Miss  Grant,  associate  of  Miss  Mary  Lyon,  for  the  last  two  years,  and 
her  recommendations  are  of  the  first  character.  Two  terms,  13  weeks  each, 
with  vacation  of  2  weeks.  Tuition  $4.25  a  term.  Music  $6,  music  and  instru- 
ments found.  All  necessary  books  and  stationery  may  be  purchased  here  at 
Boston  prices.  Ephraim  Paddock,  Luther  Clark,  Com. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  expectations  of  the 
Trustees  were  fully  realized.  From  contemporary  letters  it  ap- 
pears that  "Miss  T.  is  very  pleasing.  She  knows  how  to  appre- 
ciate the  privilege  of  teaching  such  girls  as  we  are."  It  is  sur- 
mised that  the  personality  of  the  teacher  had  something  to  do 
with  the  fine  secret  of  making  them  such  girls  as  they  were. 
Three  years  later  Miss  Almira  Taylor  resigned  her  position  as 
Principal,  and  thereafter  with  her  husband  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks, 
created  a  home  of  parental  warmth,  of  refinement,  and  hearty 
hospitality — the  remembrance  of  which  is  cherished  with  filial 
gratitude  by  her  son,  the  author  of  this  book. 


XV 


TAVERN         STORE         FARM 


LORD'S  INN — AT  THE  BEND — TODDY  MIXER — A  FAMOUS  HOSTELRY 
— TURKEY  SHOOTS — SWAPPING  HOTELS— INDIANS  IN  BAR 
ROOM — EARLY  STORES — TIGER  LETS  GO — SUNDAY  EVENING — 
FIXING  A  FISH  HOOK — RUM  AND  MOLASSES — ROW  OF  BARRELS 
— WHISKEY  FOR  HOGS — COUNTRY  PRODUCE — FARM  JOURNAL — 
CATTLE  FAIR — GEE  UP  AND  GEE  HO. 


EARLY    INNS   AND   TAVERNS 


"No  Sir,"  said  Dr.  Johnson,  "there  is  nothing  which  has  yet  been  con- 
trived by  man  whereby  so  much  happiness  is  produced  as  by  a  good  Tavern." 

As  early  as  1790  Dr.  Lord's  house  at  the  south  end  of  the 
Plain  was  open  for  the  housing  of  strangers  in  the  settlement ; 
later  it  was  enlarged  and  known  as  Lord's  Inn.  Sunday  meetings 
were  occasionally  held  in  this  house.  In  later  years  it  was  held 
for  some  time  by  Seth  Ford  as  a  tavern.  Joseph  Lord  was  one 
of  the  grantees  ;  the  steep  pitch  up  which  the  trail  from  Barnet 
ran  to  reach  the  Plain  was  known  as  Lord's  Hill,  the  first  house 
to  be  seen  by  one  coming  up  was  Lord's  Inn.  Scattered  survivors 
of  the  original  artichokes,  lovage,  horse  radish  and  pig  weeds 
were  on  the  place  when  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks  established  his 
homestead  there  in  1841.  The  spot  is  now  covered  by  the  lawn 
of  Brantview. 

The  old  two  story  white  house  removed  in  1897  to  make  way 
for  St.  Aloysius  church,  which  had  successively  housed  Luther 


192  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Jewett's  apothecary  stock,  the  Caledonian  printing  press  and  the 
Cross  bakery,  was  originally  built  by  Major  Thomas  Peck  for  a 
public  house  in  1799.  In  1810  it  was  known  as  Willard  Carleton's 
Tavern,  and  advertised  for  sale  in  the  North  Star. 

Just  when  a  tavern  was  opened  at  the  Bend  is  not  known,  but 
its  central  location  made  it  the  approved  tavern  site  on  the  Plain. 
The  first  house  there  was  built  by  Henry  Hoffman,  a  native  of 
Germany  and  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  army,  who  came  to  this 
town  in  1790.  Seven  years  later  he  cleared  off  the  forest  trees  that 
remained  on  the  old  Burial  Yard  where  the  Court  House  now  is. 
Some  time  after  1810,  Capt.  John  Barney  built  a  new  tavern  on 
the  site  of  Hoffman's,  which  he  successfully  conducted  for  several 
years.  This  Barney  building  was  moved  back  in  1851  and  con- 
verted into  the  rear  part  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  House. 

During  the  twenties  Abel  Rice  was  the  well  known  proprietor 
at  this  stand.  Capt.  Barney  had  sold  the  house  to  Presbury  West  ; 
Judge  West  sold  it  to  Major  Abel  M.  Rice,  "who  could  not  only 
beat  him  three  games  out  of  five  at  checkers,  but  also  met  all 
his  payments  on  the  hotel  promptly,  contrary  to  expectation  !" 
Of  this  establishment  Dr.  Samuel  Graves  has  given  a  vivid 
sketch : — 

"On  a  high  standard  in  front  of  the  house  hung  and  swung  on  creaking 
hinges  the  sign— a  rice  hotel.  Prominent  on  entering  its  hospitable  doors 
was  the  indispensable  bar,  adorned  with  a  wealth  of  decanters  which  invit- 
ingly contained  a  plentiful  supply  of  good  cheer,  running  thro'  the  gamut  of 
beverages  from  potato  whiskey  to  French  brandy.  The  man  who  on  due  oc- 
casions did  not  step  up  and  treat  was  voted  a  niggard  or  a  churl  by  his 
neighbors.  These  were  the  brave  old  days  when  it  was  counted  a  good  joke 
for  an  honest  man  to  lose  his  way  home  of  an  evening,  or  to  mistake  his 
neighbor's  home  for  his  own.  Abel  mixed  toddies  with  a  mild  satisfied  air, 
and  stabled  horses  in  a  determined  way ;  while  the  ample  and  jolly  landlady 
beguiled  the  traveler  with  fried  sausage  and  gossip." 

Abel  Rice  sold  the  tavern  to  Ezra  Ide,  1836 ;  Ide  sold  to  A. 
H.  Wilcox,  1838 ;  Wilcox  sold  to  Joseph  Hutchinson,  1841 ; 
Hutchinson  sold  to  Hull  Curtis,  1847  ;  Curtis  sold  to  a  syndicate 
who  in  1851  built  the  St.  Johnsbury  House,  with  the  old  tavern  in 
the  rear. 


TAVERN         STORE         FARM  193 

In  1838,  William  Boardman  built  his  "House  of  Entertain- 
ment at  the  South  End  of  St.  Johnsbury  Plain,"  which  he 
conducted  for  some  years  on  a  strictly  temperance  basis.  This 
building  which  is  now  the  Academy  Club  House  was  moved  to  its 
present  location  in  1872  to  make  way  for  the  erection  of  South 
Hall. 

CENTRE    VILLAGE    TAVERNS 

Capt.  Samuel  French  the  bridge  builder  put  up  the  first 
tavern  here  about  1812,  on  the  edge  of  the  bog  at  the  north  end 
of  the  street.  At  that  time  the  standing  water  was  deep  enough 
for  the  boys  to  fish  in ;  he  turned  the  course  of  the  brook  from 
above  so  as  to  wash  in  soil  enough  to  cover  most  of  the  bog, 
which  is  now  good  grass  land.  Business  increased  and  some 
years  later  French  put  up  a  new  two-story  building  ;  on  the  first 
floor  was  the  bar  room  with  a  well  furnished  bar,  also  parlor  and 
dining  room ;  upstairs  were  sleeping  rooms  and  a  dance  hall ; 
this  hall  was  afterward  made  into  small  rooms  and  a  new  one  of 
large  floor  space  was  built  out  over  a  shed  extension  toward  the 
swamp.  There  was  a  commodious  stable,  for  French  had  a  six- 
horse  team  on  the  road  all  the  time,  a  four-horse  team  part  of  the 
time,  and  others  for  jobbing  work  around  town.  To  provide 
properly  for  the  shoeing  of  so  many  horses  he  built  a  blacksmith 
shop  on  the  west  side  of  the  street  near  the  river. 

French's  Tavern  was  for  many  years  a  famous  hostelry  ; 
it  became  noted  as  a  good  place  for  holiday  functions,  on  Training 
day,  Fourth  of  July  and  Thanksgiving ;  prior  to  this  last  he 
always  got  up  a  "turkey-shoot" — the  shooting  was  done  with  old 
style  flint-lock  muskets,  the  turkey  being  set  up  at  a  distance  of 
about  25  rods.  In  those  days  a  turkey-shoot  was  a  popular  ad- 
junct to  the  annual  festival  in  which  that  bird  held  so  prominent  a 
place ;  the  more  humane  public  sentiment  of  later  years  finally 
banished  it  from  the  field. 

In  1820  Capt.  Walter  Wright  built  the  long  low  house  near 
the  lower  bridge,  in  which  he  lived  till  his  death  at  the  age  of  90 
years.  This  house  is  still  standing  ;  tho  not  large,  it  was  arranged 
to  accommodate  travelers,  and  became  one  of  the  halting  places 


194  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

for  stage  drivers  "to  get  their  rum  so  that  they  could  drive  bet- 
ter." 

The  large  Ira  Armington  house,  with  inviting  upper  and 
lower  piazzas,  "an  ornament  to  the  village  with  fine  Hall  at- 
tached/' stood  on  the  corner  opposite  the  Universalist  Church, 
and  was  for  several  years  known  as  Armington's  Hotel ;  it  was 
burned  in  1876. 

INNS   AT   THE    EAST   VILLAGE 

There  were  quite  early  two  taverns  at  the  East  Village, 
Gage's  and  Hibbard's.  Capt.  Silas  Hibbard  built  his  of  brick  in 
1828 ;  it  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  street,  the  fourth  building 
from  the  old  grave  yard ;  there  was  nothing  on  the  east  side  of 
the  street  except  the  steep  pitch  descending  to  Moose  River.  The 
brick  for  Hibbard's  house  were  made  on  the  premises  ;  clay  was 
hauled  on  to  the  garden,  where  Elijah  Jackson  with  two  horses 
trod  it  in  to  suitable  condition  for  making  up  in  to  brick.  The 
house  was  forty  feet  square  with  four  large  rooms  and  a  bar 
room  on  the  first  floor,  and  plenty  of  rooms  up  stairs.  At  the  bar 
anybody  could  get  a  drink  except  Johnny  Beaton,  a  well  known 
toper,  whose  request  for  more  brought  the  answer,  "No,  Johnny, 
you've  had  enough,  you  can't  have  another  drop." 

Josiah  Gage's  tavern  was  some  distance  up  the  river,  a  large 
building  still  standing,  where  the  road  turns  up  following  Gage's 
brook  to  Lyndon.  At  that  point  a  pitch  had  been  made  and  a  log 
hut  built  years  before,  when  one  going  out  after  dark  had  to  carry 
torches  to  scare  off  the  wolves.  Gage  was  in  Jubal  Harrington's 
store  one  day  and  remarked  that  he  ought  not  to  be  taxed  as  high 
as  Hibbard  was  who  had  a  new  brick  house.  "I'll  swap  with 
you,"  said  Hibbard.  "It's  a  bargain,"  said  Gage.  The  swap 
was  made  and  continued  four  years  till  Hibbard  sold  back  to 
Gage.  One  day  while  Hibbard  was  in  possession,  a  posse  of 
thirty  Indians  came  along  and  wanted  to  put  up  their  wigwams 
near  by.  They  got  permission,  but  it  was  too  late  that  afternoon 
to  begin ;  so  the  whole  tribe  was  let  in  to  sleep  over  night  on  the 
bar  room  floor.  The  next  day  they  pitched  near  the  river.  Four 
school  girls  came  up  to  see  them.     They  wanted  some  baskets, 


TAVERN        STORE         FARM  195 

but  had  no  money.  A  squaw  pointed  to  their  mittens,  enquir- 
ingly. Each  girl  pulled  off  her  mittens,  swapped  the  same  for  a 
basket  and  went  back  home  with  bare  hands,  swinging  her  Indian 
trophy. 

STORES   AND    MERCHANTS 

"I  will  buy  with  you,  sell  with  you    *    *    what  news  on  the  Rialto?" 
*'  To  the  store  he  goes  both  for  barter  and  for  news." 

Amaziah  D.  Barber  is  reported  as  the  first  store  keeper  on  the 
Plain.  He  built  the  old  Lucas  house  about  1799,  and  continued 
in  trade  for  ten  or  fifteen  years.  Fred  Phelps  was  one  of  the 
earlier  store  keepers ;  he  left  town  in  1816.  Tiger,  a  well  known 
watch  dog,  belonged  to  Phelps.  One  day  having  left  the  store  for 
some  errand,  on  returning  he  found  Tiger  holding  a  man  by  the 
leg.  "Why,  Isaac  Wing,"  said  he,  "what  are  you  doing  here?" 
"Trying  to  get  out,"  said  Isaac,  "but  Tiger  won't  let  me."  By  order 
of  Phelps,  Tiger  let  go  his  hold  and  Wing  shortly  after  went  off 
to  Canada.  Chamberlin  and  Paddock  followed  Phelps,  and  next 
in  order  were  the  Clark  brothers  and  Clarks  and  Bishop. 

Sometime  after  1800  John  and  Luther  Clark  built  the  two 
small  dwelling  houses  still  standing  on  either  side  of  the  T.  C. 
Fletcher  property,  and  their  store  and  horse  sheds  were  spread 
along  the  street  between.  They  were  originally  saddle  makers 
and  when  buying  certain  equipments  in  Boston  they  added  to 
their  purchases  miscellaneous  goods  that  were  put  on  sale.  In  a 
few  years  they  built  up  a  large  business  in  dry  goods,  groceries 
and  whatever  else  was  in  demand. 

John  was  a  Baptist,  Luther  a  Congregationalism  With 
Luther  the  Lord's  Day  began  at  night-fall  on  Saturday,  a  practice 
not  in  vogue  with  the  Baptists.  This  gave  an  opportunity  for  the 
story  passed  around  among  certain  wags  that,  with  an  eye  to  profit, 
John  kept  open  store  on  Saturday  evenings  and  Luther  gave  out 
goods  innocently  on  the  evening  of  Sunday.  As  to  which,  says 
one  who  knew  the  two  men  well,  "I  will  affirm  that  no  light  ever 
glimmered  behind  the  shutters  of  that  store  of  a  Sunday  even- 
ing." After  some  years  the  firm  became  Clarks  and  Bishop  and 
the  business  was  enlarged.     Double  columns  on  the  pages  of  the 


196  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Farmer's  Herald  set  forth  the  large  and  varied  assortments  of 
goods,  with  explanatory  pictures  of  napt  hats,  Leghorn  bonnets, 
military  equipments,  tea  chests  and  whatever  else. 

In  1827  Ephraim  Jewett,  son  of  Dr.  Luther,  was  taken  in  as 
a  clerk,  sixteen  years  of  age.  "He  showed  me  a  little  kindness," 
says  Dr.  Samuel  Graves,  "which  I  have  kept  fresh  in  memory  for 
sixty-five  years.  I  had  bought  a  fish  hook  at  the  store.  He  asked 
me  if  I  knew  how  to  put  it  on  the  line  properly.  I  said  no,  so  he 
took  my  hook  and  deftly  with  much  pains  fastened  it  on  to  the 
line;  then  said — 'now  my  boy,  I  guess  you'll  catch  a  fish.' 
That  little  act  to  me,  a  stranger  boy,  has  lived  in  my  remembrance 
as  one  of  the  small  things  that  indicate  the  character  of  the  man." 
Ephraim  Jewett  became  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  trusted 
merchants  of  the  place  continuing  in  business  till  his  death  in 
1865.  Clarks  and  Bishop  sold  out  to  Kittredge  and  Colby  ;  they 
sold  in  1842  to  Shedd  and  Jewett ;  later  Shedd  retired  and  Jewett 
and  Frank  Brown  became  in  1846,  proprietors.  The  store  was  just 
south  of  Passumpsic  Bank,  and  is  still  known  as  the  Brown  Block. 

In  1849  Jewett  and  Brown  built  the  largest  store  in  town  on 
the  site  now  occupied  by  the  brick  block  adjoining  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  House  ;  that  building  still  stands  in  the  rear  unchanged  in 
outline.  Where  the  Union  block  now  is  Lovell  Moore  did  a  brisk 
business  during  the  twenties  in  merchandise  of  all  sorts  in  small 
quantities  "from  pins  to  codfish  and  from  raisins  to  new  rum." 
Painted  in  large  black  letters  on  the  white  shutters  was  the  an- 
nouncement— "Lovell  Moore,  Dry  Goods,  West  India  Rum  and 
Molasses." 

In  1820  Moses  Kittredge  set  up  a  store  at  the  East  Village 
with  a  thousand  dollars  worth  of  goods  brought  from  Portland. 
More  business  was  done  there  at  that  time,  it  is  said,  than  any- 
where else  in  the  town.  Nine  years  later  Kittredge  gathered  up 
his  profits  and  removed  to  the  Plain,  "worth  so  many  dollars  and 
the  richest  man  in  St.  Johnsbury."  In  partnership  with  J.  W. 
Colby  he  built  the  old  yellow  store  that  stood  where  the  Frank 
Brown  block  now  is  ;  where  he  presided  as  merchant,  speculator, 
judge,  postmaster  and  general  man  of  affairs.  He  also  built  the 
Brown  block  in  1850.     In  this  store  Samuel  Jewett  and  Samuel 


TAVERN         STORE         FARM  197 

Higgins  each  for  a  time  carried  a  department  of  dry  goods.  In 
1860  Frank  Brown  bought  the  building  and  continued  business  in 
it  for  some  forty  years.  He  was  the  last  representative  of  the  old 
time  merchants.  He  came  to  town  from  Montpelier  in  1841  with 
a  dollar  and  a  half  in  his  pocket ;  this  was  his  original  capital ; 
the  dollar  piece  was  one  of  the  old  Spanish  milled  coins,  and  he 
carried  it  in  his  pocket  as  a  keepsake  or  mascot  until  his  death, 
at  which  time  the  coin  was  a  hundred  and  five  years  old. 

Emerson  Hall,  beginning  in  1846,  was  in  business  on  the 
west  side  of  Main  street  for  thirty  years.  He  built  the  store  that 
stood  where  the  Athenaeum  now  is,  the  same  building  which  had 
notoriety  in  after  years  as  the  liquor  agency,  adjoining  St.  An- 
drew's Church ;  first  it  was  Hall  and  Higgins,  after  Ephraim 
Jewett's  death  it  was  Hall  and  Fletcher,  in  the  Jewett  block. 

STORES   AT   THE    CENTER    VILLAGE 

The  following  is  taken  from  H.  N.  Roberts'  reminiscences  :— 

"The  first  store  in  this  village  was  Ezra  Sanger's  built  in  about  1810.  It 
stood  on  the  corner  of  the  road  that  went  East  ;  it  was  quite  a  large  two- 
story  Building ;  the  store  was  in  the  Lower  Part  and  was  filled  with  goods 
and  diferent  kinds  of  Liquor.  The  Liquor  was  not  in  the  back  store  ethier, 
but  in  Front,  where  they  could  wait  on  the  customers  quicker.  There  would 
be  a  row  of  Barrels  the  whole  length  of  one  side,  all  Liquor  ;  it  was  sold  by 
the  glass  or  the  gallon,  three  cents  a  glass  and  twelve  cents  a  gallon. 

"The  rest  of  the  goods  was  salt  Codfish,  Mackeral,  West  India 
Molasses  ;  a  verry  few  shelf  goods  and  a  few  Groceries.  After  a  few  years 
Sanger  sold  out  to  Horace  Evans,  he  ran  it  a  few  years  and  then  took  in  a 
partner  Ephraim  Paddock  of  St.  Johnsbury.  They  thought  it  would  be  a 
good  plan  to  put  up  a  Whiskey  Still  for  making  Whiskey  out  of  Wheat, 
Corn,  some  Rye  and  some  Barley.  After  getting  out  the  Whiskey,  what  to 
do  with  the  remainder,  the  swill  as  they  called  it.  They  thought  they  would 
try  feeding  it  to  Hogs,  but  it  proved  a  failure  ;  in  a  short  time  the  Hogs  be- 
gun to  get  sick  and  lame;  they  wanted  something  besides  Whiskey  swill. 
Then  they  tried  Cattle  and  no  better  results,  it  wanted  to  be  used  with  some- 
thing els  mixed  with  it.  They  ran  the  still  only  a  few  years  for  Whiskey 
went  down  and  their  business  went  up,  so  they  sold  out  the  Buildings  and 
Contents  to  various  Persons ;  the  Granary  seperate  from  the  main  Building 
they  sold  to  the  Methodist  who  moved  it  up  and  finished  it  in  to  a  Meeting 
House ;  the  Still  used  to  stand  where  John  Danforth  has  a  garden  on  the 
East  road.     This  old  Sanger  Store  was  sold  at  last  to  Goodhue  of  St.  Johns- 


198  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

bury,  and  Goodhue  sold  to  David  Goodhall,  and  Goodhall  to  Ira  Armington 
who  moved  it  across  the  road  to  make  a  Lot  for  to  Build  a  Hotel.  He  Built 
a  fine  House  and  it  was  an  ornament  to  the  Villiage,  and  a  fine  Hall  attached. 

"Samuel  Humphrey  built  a  store,  he  did  not  live  Jong,  and  it  was  sold 
to  Jonas  Flint  ;  Flint  died  and  it  was  sold  to  Hiram  Weeks  and  he  owned 
it  till  the  Fire. 

"John  Bacon  ran  the  Farmer's  and  Mechanic's  Store  for  three  years  be- 
ginning in  1847,  and  then  bought  out  and  ran  it  for  himself.  John  Bacon 
was  a  large  dealer  in  Butter,  Hops,  Starch,  and  other  kinds  of  Produce.  In 
the  first  years  of  trade  he  would  buy  Cattle  and  Hogs  ;  people  would  trade 
in  the  summer,  get  into  Debt  not  having  much  money  ;  then  they  would  sell 
some  of  their  Cattle  or  Hogs  to  pay  the  Debt.  The  Cattle  he  would  buy  in 
the  fall  and  drive  them  to  market.  Hogs  he  would  buy  them  when  it  came 
freezing  up  time  and  take  them  to  Portland.  The  teams  would  Load  back 
with  salt  mostly  ;  the  Cattle  he  would  sell  for  money,  and  then  buy  his 
Store  goods." 

DOINGS   ON   THE    FARM      1831 

In  1791  a  young  man  from  Charlestown  No.  4  followed  the 
blazed  trail  that  brought  him  to  St.  Johnsbury.  The  next  year 
he  bought  150  acres  of  land  on  Moose  River  for  which  he  paid 
^67-10s.  Two  years  later  he  married,  and  lived  here  57  years. 
His  death  in  1848,  in  his  eightieth  year,  took  away  "the  last  sur- 
vivor of  the  band  of  pioneers  who  turned  the  once  howling  wilder- 
ness into  fruitful  fields."  A  journal  which  he  kept  in  1831-1834 
has  come  to  light,  extracts  from  which  are  here  given.  They 
will  illustrate  the  every  day  farm  doings  of  that  period,  and  inci- 
dentally the  simplified  spelling  of  a  very  intelligent  and  prosper- 
ous farmer — Asa  Lee. 

May  17,  1831.     Begain  to  Plant  Corne. 

May  26.     I  woshed  my  sheep  and  boochered  my  Pig. 

June  7.     Plainted  potatos  and  went  to  Training. 

July  7.    All  hands  to  mowinge. 

July  8.     Drawd  in  3  Lods  hay  in  to  my  new  Barne. 

July  20.     I  gave  my  note  for  $3  to  Kitrig  and  Moril. 

Aug.  2.     2  tin  pedlars  poot  up  at  our  house. 

Aug.  5.     Begain  to  cut  up  Corne  and  moe  Clover  seed. 

Aug.  7.     Sunday.     Attended  Meeting. 

Aug.  8.     Drawd  in  our  rye.     Surkus  on  the  Plain. 

Aug.  15.     Begain  to  make  Baskets.     Aug.  31.     Finished  2  Baskets. 

Aug.  18.     Begain  to  reap  oats  and  oiled  our  harnis. 


TAVERN        STORE         FARM  199 

Aug.  19.     Boroed  Mr.  Work's  Scraper. 

Aug.  21.     Sunday  Meeting  at  our  School  house. 

Aug.  22.     Mother  traided  with  a  pedler. 

Aug.  24.     Borowid  11  lbs.  of  pourke  of  John. 

Aug.  27.     I  went  to  Center  Village  and  got  the  old  horse  shod. 

Sept.  6.     Freeman's  Meeting. 

Sept.  7.     A.  and  L,  rode  tantrom  to  Clarks  store. 

Sept.  10.     Caried  tools  to  Senter  Meeting  house. 

Sept.  16.     Lynda  rode  to  Danvil  in  the  Stag.     Raised  Corn  house. 

Sept.  18.     Mr.  Wheeton  dyed, 

Sept.  20.     Drawd  in  two  lods  of  Clover  seed. 

Sept.  25.     Mam  and  the  girls  to  Meetinge. 

Oct.  7,  1831.     Three  days  Meeting  begain  at  the  Center. 

Oct.  12.     A  snowstorm.     15th.     Plesant  and  Sun  Shines. 

Oct.  16.     Sunday  I  heared  Mr.  Bugby  Preach. 

Oct.  20.     Begun  to  Boile  Cyder. 

Oct.  24.     Dug  potatos  in  rain.     28th.     Finished  Diggin. 

Oct.  31.     To  hopeing  3  Barils,  Fifty  cents. 

Nov.  4.     I  went  on  to  the  Plain  with  the  pedler. 

Nov.  10.     I  cut  Pine  Logg  for  a  water  trap. 

Nov.  12.     Swopt  horsis  with  Mr.  West. 

Nov.  18.     I  gave  my  Note  to  Kitrig  for  a  Bras  Kitle. 

Nov.  22.     Brought  home  Brass  kitle. 

Dec.  1.     Thanksgivinge  Day— over  to  Brother  Johns. 

Dec.  13.     Hard  Luck  a  Login.     Brok  one  wipltree. 

Dec.  28.     I  broke  my  ax  handles.     I  went  to  mill. 

Dec   22.     A.  rod  over  to  Capt.  Stilesis,  Caried  a  Pigg. 

July  19,  1832.     Went  to  the  Plain  and  traided  with  Juet.     Cow  to  Boot. 

July  20.     I  hopt  our  old  cheese  tub. 

July  22.     Elder  C.  Preach  his  fur  well  Sermon  to  the  Center. 

July  25.     Clouday.     I  churnd  Buter. 

July  27.     Good  hay  Day.     Put  up  125  Cocks. 

Aug.  18.     Finished  hayinge.     20th.     Begain  to  reap  our  rye. 

Aug.  22.     I  made  a  piggin.     Caried  2  bush,  wheat  to  mill. 

Aug.  27.     All  hands  to  reaping  oats.     Finished. 

May  7,  1833.     Baugt  1  Dung  forke.     Sod  My  Onion  seed. 

May  24.     War  declared  betwixt  John  H.  and  my  son. 

May  29.     I  shered  my  Sheep  in  2  hours,  piled  up  old  Sleds. 

June  1.     I  went  to  Plain.     Baugt  1  fish,  of  Kitrig. 

June  5.     Bgan  to  worke  on  the  Rhode,  Myself  and  oxen  and  plow. 

June  14.     Attended  to  Mr.  Fog's  Funeral  on  the  Plain. 

June  15.     I  went  to  East  Vilage  and  got  pint  of  Brandy. 

June  25.     Made  grindstone  frame.     Dyantha  comes  to  work. 

July  1.     Finished  my  hogg  Yeard.     Scalt  my  Buckits. 

July  8.     A  Call  to  help  move  the  printinge  Ofice  on  the  Plain. 


200  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

July  9.     Paid  to  Erastus  Fairbanks  50  cents  for   New   Sainge   and  for 

Mending  my  plow.     He  had  begain  to  ho  his  corn  3rd  time. 
July  13.     The  old  fox  took  the  old  hen  Bag  and  Bagige. 
July  18.     I  Mod  thissels  and  lost  my  ho. 
July  21.     Sunday.     Met  in  our  School  house. 

Aug.  2.     I  can  attst  to  the  truth  that  Shaler  Buel  has  shoen  his  Ignorence. 
Aug.  12.     The  old  Mare  in  the  oats,  a  grate  Noise. 

Nov.  6.     Let  to  my  son  6  sheep  for  1  year  at  1  lb.  of  wool  for  each  sheep. 
Dec.  19.     Thrashed  wheat.     Baught  a  Dixshonary. 
Mch.  9,  1834.     Sunday.    All  hands  to  Meetinge.     Snow  squals. 
Mch.  18.     I  went  to  town  Meetinge. 
Mch.  20.     55  lbs  of  Shuger  this  Day. 
April  19.     Fire  broke  out.     We  had  a  hard  scrable. 
May  14.     I  lost  my  whip.     24th.     I  swengled  Flax. 
June  15.     Frost  last  night.     30th.     Corn  toseled  out. 
July  6.     Bees  swarmed.     We  attended  Meetinge  to  the  Center. 

Mch.  19,  1811.  This  day  Mr  Mann  left  My  old  Log  House. 
Apl.  20,  1811.  This  day  Mr.  Pouers  moved  into  My  House. 
Jan.  30,  1812.     Mr.  Peter  Pouers  moved  out  of  M)'  House. 

The  items  above  given  are  a  sample  of  some  1200  entries 
covering  sixty  pages  of  the  journal.  The  book  in  which  they  are 
recorded  was  bought  at  Clark's  store  on  the  Plain,  Jan.  1812. 
Across  the  first  leaf  is  written  in  clear  hand  the  word  "Righteous- 
ness."    It  is  deposited  in  the  Athenaeum. 

CALEDONIA  CATTLE  FAIR  OF  1838 

This  was  the  fourth  annual  meet  of  the  Caledonia  Cattle  Fair, 
and  the  first  but  one  that  ever  met  in  this  town.  A  ringing  an- 
nouncement was  sent  out,  saying 

"Come,  everybody  !  Come  to  St.  Johnsbury  Plain  ;  bring  the  produce 
of  your  flocks  and  fields ;  bring  the  old  ox  and  the  young  ox  ;  the  Yankee 
sheep,  Merino  sheep,  Saxon  sheep,  Irish  sheep  ;  bring  your  Durham  and 
Devonshire  cow,  short  horn  or  no  horn,  cow,  calf  or  heifer  !  Bring  Byfield 
and  Yankee  pig  ;  Yankee,  English,  French  and  Morgan  horse  or  pony  !  We 
want  to  see  your  big  pumpkin,  your  great  squash,  your  melons  worth  a  dol- 
lar, your  beets  and  carrots,  and  dont  forget  your  onions !  Mechanics  bring 
your  leather,  your  saddles  and  harness,  your  boots  and  shoes,  your  iron, 
steel  and  brass  and  wood  work,  and  whatever  else  you've  made. 

"O  yes ;  and  there  across  the  way  from  Wilcox's  Inn,  you'll  see  the  La- 
ides'   Fair;    not  only  fair   faces  but   fine  things  you've  never  dreamp't  of 


TAVERN         STORE         FARM  201 

silks,  worsteds,  woolens,  linens,  carpets,  rugs,  quilts,  counterpanes ;  here 
you  may  buy  your  collars,  bosoms,  stocks,  caps,  or  any  kind  of  jimcracks, 
with  cakes,  coffee,  tea,  crackers  and  raisins  to  your  heart's  content.  This 
will  be  your  chance  to  buy,  to  sell,  to  swap,  to  give  away ;  to  do  any  clever, 
honest,  good  natured  thing  you  please." 

When  the  day  arrived,  Sept.  27,  the  movement  of  population 
was  toward  St.  Johnsbury  Plain.  Five  hundred  and  eighty  wheeled 
vehicles  rolled  in,  troops  of  horsemen  galloped  along  the  roads 
and  many  trudged  their  way  on  foot ;  upwards  of  1500  in  all.  The 
plowing  match  was  on  a  field  where  the  Methodist  church  now  is ; 
the  trotting  course  was  "the  street,"  now  called  Main  Street. 
Every  wagon  became  a  lunch  counter  for  the  family,  and  the 
Wilcox  tavern  had  sumptuous  fare — not  a  man  got  drunk.  After 
dinner,  Henry  Stevens  of  Barnet  gave  the  address  of  the  day  in 
the  meeting  house ;  this  was  followed  by  music  from  the  organ 
played  by  John  H.  Paddock,  and  a  Farmer's  Song  of  thirteen 
stanzas,  sung  by  Mr.  Wood ;  four  stanzas  of  this  production  are 
here  quoted  ;    set  to  the  tune  Star  Spangled  Banner, 

"Ye  brown  bonnie  rustics  and  Lords  of  the  Soil, 
Come,  let  a  short  ditty  amuse  you  awhile  ; 

For  Farmers  who  live  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow, 
Oft  join  in  a  song  as  they  follow  the  plow. 
Chorus 

With  Gallant  and  Golding  and  Dobbin  we  go, 
While  our  fields  loud  re-echo  gee-up  and  gee-o  ! 

Time  was  when  the  plow  with  its  hoggle  and  jog, 

Just  turned  up  the  turf  like  the  snout  of  a  hog  ; 
But  modern  improvement  with  stout  sturdy  team 
Goes  the  depth  of  the  soil,  tho  it  reach  to  the  beam. 

John  Bull  calls  us  pumpkins — what  argufies  that? 

But  to  prove  that  our  soil  is  both  mellow  and  fat : 
He  may  rail  if  he  please,  but  1  guess  'tis  agreed, 
That  John  has  found  pith  in  a  small  pumpkin  seed. 

John  Glover,  he  wedded  the  sweet  Molly  Bean, 

Who  learned  of  her  mother  to  knit  and  to  spin  ; 
To  milk  and  to  churn,  to  make  cheeses  and  such, 
They  managed  with  prudence  and  throve  like  the  Dutch  ; 

With  Gallant  and  Golding  and  Dobbin  we  Go 
While  our  fields  loud  re-echo  gee-up  and  gee-ho  ! ' ' 

The  concluding  stanza  exhorts  us  all  to  go  and  do  as  John  and  Molly  did. 


202  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

That  year  as  so  uniformly  since,  the  Waterford  oxen  were  at 
the  front,  Ezekiel  Cutler's  four-year-olds  taking  the  premium. 
Jacob  Ide  of  Barnet  had  the  best  cow ;  John  Ide  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  the  best  three  year  old  heifer;  Geo.  Ayer  the  best  yearling 
steers,  Dennis  May  of  Waterford  the  best  bull.  Hial  Bradley  of 
Wheelock  brought  the  best  potatoes  ;  Simon  Stevens  of  Barnet 
the  best  sugar  beets ;  John  Ide  the  best  butter,  Willard  Hawkins, 
best  cheese. 

Capt.  Harris  Knapp  raised  in  St.  Johnsbury  eighty  bushels  of 
shelled  corn  on  one  acre ;  Dr.  Beniah  Sanborn  raised  1038  pump- 
kins on  84  square  rods  and  4040  ruta-bagas  on  42  square  rods. 
The  weight  of  Alexander  Blair's  Barnet  turnip  is  not  recorded  ; 
but  William  Hall  of  the  Center  Village  produced  a  squash  of  55 
lbs.,  and  another  of  59  lbs.  Amos  Belknap's  hand  vise  and 
plyers  were  of  superior  workmanship,  and  so  was  the  splendid  and 
beautiful  mahogany  work-table  made  by  Col.  Ira  Armington. 

The  award  committee  found  many  nice  things,  as  was  prom- 
ised, in  the  Ladies'  Fair :  "Colored  sewing  silk  by  Miss  Electa 
Skinner  and  white  silk  by  Miss  Sophia  Stevens  of  Barnet,  not  in- 
ferior to  the  best  Italian  for  evenness  and  strength  of  thread  and 
for  brilliancy  of  color — demonstrating  the  importance  of  this  do- 
mestic industry  essential  for  our  national  wealth  and  for  inde- 
pendence of  foreign  fabrics.  Three  pieces  of  Cassimere  of  fine 
fabric,  one  from  the  clip  of  Hon.  Ephraim  Paddock,  a  most  beauti- 
ful article  ;  creditable  alike  to  the  producer  and  the  manufacturer. 
Also  a  shawl  of  excellent  fabric  in  imitation  of  Highland  Plaid, 
made  by  Susannah  Grout."     Erastus  Fairbanks,  Chairman. 


XVI 


UP  AT  THE  BRICK  HOUSE 


EPHRAIM  PADDOCK — STICK  AND  BUNDLE — LOST  IN  THE  WOODS — 
A  HOUSE  OF  CHARACTER — NEW  MUSIC — HOSPITALITIES — 
ROMPING  GIRLS — THE  FEMALE  ACADEMY — AN  INFANT  SCHOOL 
— THE  BELL  FAIR. 


AN  UPRIGHT  JUDGE 

One  summer  morning  in  1846  a  lad  of  ten  years  was  sent  on 
an  errand  up  to  Judge  Paddock's.  Arriving  at  the  door  of  the 
square  brick  house  he  was  kindly  accosted  by  the  man,  standing, 
as  always,  straight  as  an  arrow.  "Straighten  up  !  Edward,"  said 
he  ;  "you're  growing  round  shouldered  ;  I  was  crooked  once,  but 
I  determined  to  be  straight." 

That  determination  was  characteristic  of  the  man,  and  it  pre- 
vailed. At  the  age  of  seventy  a  more  upright  figure  was  not  seen 
on  our  streets ;  a  more  upright  judge  did  not  sit  on  the  bench.  He  was 
a  man  of  marked  personality ;  tall,  slender,  somewhat  reserved, 
of  dignified  step  and  bearing,  mild  voice  and  the  fine  old  time 
courtesy.  He  combined  a  sensitive  organism  and  refined  taste 
with  strength  and  originality  of  mind  and  ready  activity  for  the 
public  welfare  ;  withal  he  was  an  accomplished  musician. 

Born  in  Holland,  Mass.,  1780,  Ephraim  Paddock  came  up  to 
Vermont  on  foot  and  alone,  with  nothing  but  his  stick  and  "a 
bundle  whose  contents  included  but  three  articles  of  dress  most 
essential  for  a  change."  He  made  up  for  lack  of  early  education 
by  insistent  application  to  study  ;    for  some  while  he  was  a  pupil 


204  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

and  instructor  in  Peacham  Academy ;  he  entered  a  law  office  in 
Danville,  was  duly  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Dec.  1807.  His  character  and 
abilities  commanded  public  confidence  and  a  good  standing  among 
the  strong  men  of  the  Caledonia  bar.  He  continued  to  perfect 
himself  in  legal  studies  and  took  rank  among  the  leading  lawyers 
of  the  state.  In  1828  he  arrived  at  the  supreme  bench  ;  from  1821 
1826  inclusive  he  represented  this  town  in  the  legislature  ;  he  was 
member  of  the  Constitutional  convention  in  1828,  and  one  of  the 
Council  of  Censors  in  1841. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  Judge  Paddock's  dignified  and 
guiding  influence  was  felt  in  the  affairs  of  this  town ;  shaping 
public  sentiment,  bettering  civil  and  social  conditions,  fostering 
education  and  religion,  music  and  good  manners.  He  died  July 
27,  1859  in  his  80th  year.  His  portrait  appropriately  hangs  on 
the  wall  of  the  Court  Room,  and,  though  painted  from  a  small 
photograph  after  his  death,  it  gives  from  the  canvas  an  excellent 
likeness. 

BOY   AND   GIRL   AND   INDIANS 

The  ancestry  of  the  Paddock  family  by  way  of  Zachariah  Pad- 
dock, born  1636,  runs  back  thro  the  families  of  Sayer,  Knyvet, 
and  Bourchier  to  Ann  Plantagenet,  granddaughter  of  King  Edward 
III.  Zachariah  Paddock  was  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  Scitu- 
ate,  Mass. ;  his  children  a  boy  of  ten  and  a  girl  of  twelve  years, 
wandered  into  the  forest  one  day  gathering  ground  nuts.  They 
finally  lost  their  way  and  when  overtaken  by  darkness  curled 
themselves  up  under  a  log  and  slept  there  thro  the  night.  In 
early  morning  they  were  awakened  by  the  barking  of  hounds  ; 
starting  up  they  saw  a  deer  badly  wounded  with  arrows  in  his 
side  coming  near  them.  They  caught  up  some  big  sticks,  ran  to 
the  deer,  and  managed  to  knock  him  down.  By  the  time  the 
Indian  hunters  arrived  they  had  pounded  the  life  out  of  the  deer. 
The  Indians  claimed  the  deer  as  their  game ;  the  children  insisted 
that  he  belonged  to  them  because  they  had  killed  him,  and  so 
stoutly  did  they  maintain  their  claim,  that  the  Indians  who  were 
friendly  finally  skinned  the  deer,  cut  off  one  quarter  for  them  and 
showed  them  the  way  home.     They  came  up  to  the  fort  bearing 


UP  AT  THE  BRICK  HOUSE  205 

their  trophy  between  them.  This  boy  of  ten  grew  to  vigorous 
manhood,  and  was  great-grandfather  of  Ephraim  Paddock.  It 
was  the  same  well  defined  family  characteristic  of  resoluteness 
and  tenacity  that  brought  Ephraim  on  foot  with  stick  and  bundle 
up  into  Vermont  and  to  a  successful  career ;  that  reappeared  in 
the  three  sons  of  his  sister  Phebe,  who  in  spite  of  reverses  and 
difficulties  built  up  the  industry  that  has  given  fame  to  our  town. 

A  COLONIAL   MANSION 

Sitting  in  quiet  dignity  apart  from  the  street,  the  residence 
built  by  Ephraim  Paddock  in  1820,  still  retains  unique  interest  as 
the  one  building  of  true  colonial  type  in  the  town.  When  it  first 
rose  to  view  the  spacious  grounds  included  not  only  the  adjacent 
lots  on  either  side,  but  also  real  estate  from  Passumpsic  River  to 
Observatory  Knob,  including  Boynton  Hill,  Mt.  Pleasant  Cemetery 
and  the  Penniman  farm.  The  brick  of  which  this  house  was  con- 
structed were  made  on  the  premises  by  brickmakers  from  Con- 
necticut under  superintendence  of  William  Gage  of  Walpole,  N. 
H. ;  it  is  asserted  that  the  quality  of  these  brick  has  never  been 
excelled  in  any  brick  yards  of  the  town.  The  blinds  and  parts  of 
the  wood  finish  were  hand-made  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks. 

People  came  from  near  and  distant  towns  to  see  this  first 
brick  house  which  in  its  day  was  a  notable  structure  ;  they  admir- 
ed the  ornamental  portico,  the  balustraded  roof,  the  large  windows 
with  white  caps,  the  high  rooms,  the  stylish  fender  at  the  fire- 
place, the  stationary  kettles  and  kitchen  conveniences,  above  all 
the  wonderful  landscape  paper  on  the  parlor  walls  depicting 
Mount  Vesuvius  and  the  Bay  of  Naples.  The  house,  and  all  its 
appointments  betokened  the  standing  and  embodied  the  ideas  of 
its  builder  ;  a  man  of  individuality  and  dignity  of  character,  of 
plain  and  cultivated  tastes,  whose  home  and  personality  gave 
dignity  to  the  place. 

A  further  interest  was  awakened  in  this  house  somewhat  later 
by  a  novelty  that  had  arrived.  Not  content  with  his  well  strung 
violin  the  Judge  introduced  an  instrument  hitherto  unknown  in 
the  town.  Respecting  this,  a  man  at  that  time  in  his  boyhood 
writes,  "that  house  contained,  what  I  was  intensely  interested  to 


206  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

see — A  piano,  the  only  one  in  town.  I  well  remember  how  my 
curiosity  was  whetted,  as,  many  a  time  when  passing  by,  I  lin- 
gered near  the  grounds  to  hear  its  tones.  Charlotte,  the  daughter 
of  the  house,  a  comely  and  dignified  maiden,  was  the  musical  en- 
chantress." Here  was  given  the  first  strong  impulse  toward  the 
cultivation  of  music  for  which  our  village  soon  became  quite 
famous.  There  was  a  time  when  "the  walls  of  this  house  resound- 
ed to  the  tones  of  five  different  piano  fortes." 

There  were  ever  open  doors  and  abounding  hospitality  under 
the  roof  of  this  house — "up  at  the  brick  house,"  was  a  familiar 
phrase.  The  mistress  of  the  mansion  was  "dear  Aunt  Abba"  to 
everybody.  She  was  buxom  and  lively,  over-flowing  with  merri- 
ment and  kindliness.  "Her  blessed  heart  was  never  troubled 
with  the  worriments  of  ordinary  housekeepers,"  notwithstanding 
the  large  family,  including  a  houseful  of  teachers  and  girls  of  the 
Female  Academy.  Lawyers,  ministers,  business  men  coming  to 
town  were  entertained  here ;  the  unexpected  guest  was  cordially 
welcomed ;  there  was  always  one  more  pie  waiting  for  somebody 
or  a  nice  cake  that  must  be  attended  to  before  getting  old  and 
dry.  On  one  occasion  when  the  party  of  invited  guests  were 
shaking  with  laughter  at  one  of  her  stories  between  courses,  she 
unconsciously  shoved  back  her  chair,  whereat  all  rose  and  re- 
tired to  the  parlor  ;  till,  in  she  rushed  exclaiming  that  the  pie  had 
been  forgotten  !  all  must  come  back  and  sit  down  again  to  pie. 
After  dining  her  snuff  box  would  be  passed  around  as  we  now  pass 
the  bon-bon  dish. 

SPORTS  OF   THE   GIRLS 

Merry  times  those  were  when  the  girls  of  the  village  came 
to  play  with  the  gifted  and  loveable  daughter  of  the  house.  From 
one  of  them,  Mrs.  Helen  Martin  Chadwick,  we  have  this  reminis- 
cence given  in  1896.  "Charlotte  was  full  of  life  and  fertile  in 
plans  for  our  amusement ;  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  building 
resounded  with  our  mirth  and  jollity.  The  old  shed  chamber  was 
a  favorite  place  where  we  could  make  the  diagrams  on  the  floor 
and  play  hop-scotch ;  the  greatest  feat  was  to  walk  across  the 
beam  at  the  head  of  the  kitchen  stairs,  this  was  a  test  of  courage 


UP  AT  THE  BRICK  HOUSE  207 

and  steadiness,  so  was  the  delight  of  flying  through  the  air  in 
jumping  from  one  scaffold  to  another  in  the  big  barn.  Grace 
hoops,  battledore  and  shuttlecock  were  then  in  vogue,  and  jump- 
ing the  rope  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  There  was  the  fun  of  going  out 
on  the  piazza  roof,  of  hiding  in  the  dark  chamber  where  were 
stored  the  apples,  cheese  and  maple  sugar,  then  down  to  the  pan- 
try for  some  of  Aunt  Abba's  cookies,  then  to  gather  front  of  the 
bright  fire  place  with  its  pretty  fender  which  was  rare  in  those 
days,  and  most  exquisite  of  all,  to  hear  Charlotte  play  on  the  new 
Chickering  piano,  while  we  gazed  at  the  scenery-paper  on  the 
parlor  walls  ;  where,  some  years  after,  she  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Thayer  right  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Vesuvius  ; 
where,  seven  years  later  she  quietly  fell  asleep  during  the  night 
and  in  the  morning  the  vapor  floating  up  from  the  mountain  top 
seemed  pointing  where  the  spirit  had  fled." 

ST.    JOHNSBURY    FEMALE    ACADEMY 

The  General  Assembly  passed  an  Act,  Oct.  27,  1824,  estab- 
lishing the  St.  Johnsbury  Female  Academy.  The  principal 
movers  in  this  enterprise  were  Dea.  Luther  Clark  and  Judge  Eph- 
raim  Paddock,  who  to  a  large  extent  assumed  the  expenses  that 
were  liable  to  be  incurred.  Associated  with  them  as  original 
Trustees  were  Dr.  Morrill  Stevens  and  Judge  Presbury  West  of 
this  town,  and  seven  others  from  neighboring  towns.  It  was  enact- 
ed that* 'all  real  and  personal  estate,  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  which  shall  at  any  time,  be  held  by  said  corporation  for 
the  benefit  of  said  institution,  shall  be  free  and  exempt  from  all 
taxes."  No  funds  however  were  ever  held  by  the  institution  ; 
tuition  was  $6  a  term  and  arrears  were  made  up  by  the  Trustees. 

The  opening  session  was  held  in  the  south  west  chamber  of 
the  Brick  House,  Judge  Paddock's,  in  1825  ;  the  same  year  a 
suitable  Hall  was  fitted  up  in  Capt.  Martin's  new  house  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  D.  D.  Patterson;  this  was  known  as  Study 
Hall.  From  the  first  the  school  took  high  rank  and  held  the  same 
for  seventeen  years  ;  this  was  chiefly  due  to  the  qualifications  and 
character  of  the  instructors.  There  was  very  little  advertising, 
but  the  merits  of  the  school  became  known,  pupils  were  attracted 


208  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

to  it  from  towns  in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  Can- 
ada, some  came  up  from  the  state  of  Georgia.  There  were  nine 
different  principals  :  Miss  Trowbridge  of  Worcester,  Miss  Giles 
of  Walpole,  Miss  Newcomb  of  Keene,  Miss  Almira  Taylor  of 
Deny,  Misses  Susan  and  Catharine  Clark  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Misses 
Bradlee  and  Worcester  of  Peacham,  Miss  Hobart  of  Berlin.  The 
superior  qualities  and  culture  of  these  ladies  was  one  occasion  of 
the  frequent  changes  ;  their  hand  being  sought  by  other  admirers 
than  School  Boards.  Cupid's  darts,  says  a  writer  of  that  period, 
were  unerring  in  those  days. 

From  the  Farmer's  Herald  of  1829  :— 

"This  institution  has  had  a  flourishing  season.  Examinations  were  held 
last  Thursday;  Study  Hall  was  tastefully  decorated  with  drawings  and 
paintings  done  by  the  young  ladies  of  the  school.  They  were  examined  in 
Geography,  History,  Arithmetic,  Rhetoric,  Natural  Philosophy,  Astronomy, 
Logic,  Mental  Philosophy,  Latin,  French,  Composition  and  Music.  They 
shewed  promptness  and  accuracy  in  all ;  the  compositions  were  particularly 
admired  for  the  tact  and  judgment  in  selection  of  subjects  and  for  delicacy 
and  ability  of  treatment." 

A  contemporary  description  written  by  one  of  the  pupils  is  as 
follows  : — 

"There  is  a  very  pleasant  School  at  St.  Johnsbury  Plain.  It  is  kept  in  a 
long  Hall  the  outside  of  which  is  painted  red.  On  both  sides  are  seats  for  the 
young  ladies.  At  the  farther  end  of  the  Hall  is  a  black  board  and  a  table 
for  the  teacher.  The  table  is  covered  with  green  baize  and  behind  it  is  the 
teacher's  arm  chair.  In  the  middle  of  the  room  is  rather  a  rusty  stove  but  it 
answers  its  purpose  very  well.  There  are  four  windows  on  each  side  and 
blinds  are  on  the  west  side  to  keep  the  sun  from  coming  in.  There  is  also  a 
small  room  to  study  in  for  it  is  much  easier  to  be  alone  when  we  are  study- 
ing. The  young  ladies  come  to  this  school  from  many  states  as  well  as  many 
from  our  own  state,  which  makes  it  very  pleasant ;  how  can  it  be  otherwise 
with  our  present  teacher."  S.  F. 

Under  a  different  teacher  we  have  this  inside  view,  given  in 
a  school  girl's  letter  : — 

"You  want  to  know  how  things  are  progressing  at  Study  Hall.  We 
have  a  very  accomplished  teacher.  She  is  more  strict  than  any  we  ever  had 
before.  We  are  not  allowed  to  convey  ideas  in  any  way  whatever— either  by 
writing,  or  by  making  letters  with  our  fingers  or  by  signs  of  any  sort.  Our 
lights  must  be  extinguished  by  ten  o'clock  every  night,  we  are  not  to  read  or 


UP  AT  THE  BRICK  HOUSE  209 

study  after  that  hour.     I  am  studying  Astronomy,  Mental  Philosophy,  Arith- 
metic, Grammar,  U.  S.  History  and  Political  Class  Book." 

Another  girl  of  the  period  who  lived  in  a  more  rural  part  of 
the  town,  did  not  have  the  privilege  of  absorbing  such  various 
knowledge  under  discipline  so  nicely  adjusted.  She  left  this 
reminiscence  : — 

"At  Captain  Martin's  there  was  a  Ladies'  School;  it  was  a  good  thing 
to  go  to  a  Ladies'  School,  but  I  never  went." 

The  enlargement  of  educational  interests  in  the  town  finally 
led  up  to  the  discontinuance  of  this  school  and  the  establishment 
of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy  in  1842. 

SCHOOLS   OTHER   THAN    DISTRICT   SCHOOLS 

"An  Infant  School"  was  opened  on  the  Plain,  Dec.  1829,  by 
Miss  Dascomb.  That  it  bid  fair  to  equal  the  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations was  publicly  announced,  but  who  the  infants  were  and 
what  the  methods  used  with  them  does  not  appear.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  know  that  ten  years  before  Froebel  inaugurated  the 
kindergarten,  Miss  Dascomb  was  experimenting  with  infant  edu- 
cation in  our  town. 

In  1830,  John  H.  Slack  set  up  a  Private  High  School  on  the 
Plain.  At  $3  a  quarter  instruction  was  given  in  the  branches  of 
literature  and  science  usually  taught  in  Academies  and  High 
Schools.  For  $6  tuition  instruction  was  offered  in  French,  Span- 
ish and  Hebrew. 

From  a  family  letter  it  appears  that  Mr.  Cushman  had  a  pri- 
vate school  on  the  Plain  in  1834.  That  year  there  were  twenty 
pupils,  among  whom  was  a  future  governor  of  the  State. 

THE    BELL    FAIR   OF    1833 

There  was  no  bell  in  the  town.  To  aid  in  securing  one  for 
the  Meeting  House  on  the  Plain  a  Fair  was  held  in  the  hall  of 
Abel  Rice's  hotel,  interesting  details  of  which  are  preserved  in 
letters  dated  Sept.  20  and  Nov.  16,  1833.  The  writer  is  address- 
ing her  cousin,  J.  P.  Fairbanks,  who  had  recently  gone  to  Water- 
ville,  Maine. 


210  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"You  ask  me  to  tell  you  all  about  the  Bell  Fair.  Well,  it  exceeded  all  ex- 
pectations and  has  been  the  general  topic  of  conversation  ever  since.  Money- 
enough  was  raised  at  the  Fair  with  subscriptions  afterward  to  purchase  a 
bell  and  we  sent  for  it  the  fifth  day  after.  The  doors  of  the  Hall  were  opened 
at  2  o'clock  and  men,  women  and  children  came  flocking  in.  At  the  farther 
end  of  the  Hall  was  Charlotte  Paddock's  piano  and  the  Judge's  magnifying 
glass.  Charlotte,  Julia  Ann  and  John  played,  and  played  well.  Then  came 
singing  and  playing  again,  and  the  Battle  of  Prague,  Dr.  Calvin  Jewett  read- 
ing the  parts — the  march,  the  bugle  call  for  cavalry,  the  cannon,  the  battle, 
etc. 

There  was  a  long  table,  covered  with  needle  books,  bags,  pin  cushions, 
caps,  squawms,  aprons,  shoes  black  and  red,  ladies'  neck  things,  indian 
boxes,  etc.,  a  sofa  and  a  ship.  Over  the  table  was  a  line  on  which  were  hung 
men's  things,  collars,  stocks,  footings,  etc.  Mrs.  Martin,  Mrs.  Thaddeus 
Fairbanks,  Miss  Betsey  Jewett  and  Miss  Lavinia  Chamberlin,  attended  at 
this  table.  At  the  other  end  of  the  Hall  was  a  table  loaded  with  cakes  of  all 
kinds,  a  large  loaf  in  the  middle  covered  with  frosting  and  sugar  plums  and 
a  large  sprig  of  artificial  flowers  at  the  top.  Coffee  was  poured  at  another 
table  and  served  by  Mrs.  Paddock,  Mrs.  Barney  and  Mrs.  Curtis.  Nothing 
was  wanting  to  make  all  happy  and  pleasant.  About  $15  was  taken  at  the 
door,  $22  at  the  food  table,  $85  at  the  trinket  table,  $2  at  the  magnifying 
glass,  altogether  about  $127.  Next  day  made  up  by  subscriptions  to  $200. 
Mr.  Davis  was  up  from  Barnet  and  was  very  liberal  with  his  money ;  he 
drank  six  cups  of  coffee  during  the  afternoon  and  for  the  last  one  he  paid  a 
dollar.  A  gentleman  who  was  here  from  Boston  told  us  that  our  Fair  ex- 
celled the  Boston  ones,  and  I  assure  you  we  felt  proud  to  hear  that.  Every- 
body was  happy  and  tried  to  make  others  so." 

The  bell  arrived  shortly  after  and  was  hung  in  the  tower 
where  it  remained  till  the  building  was  removed  fourteen  years 
later  to  its  present  location  south  of  the  Court  House.  The  later 
history  of  this  bell  is  included  with  the  annals  of  the  bells  of  the 
town  on  a  subsequent  page. 


XVII 


NOTES  OF  PROGRESS 


A  CONVERTED  DISTILLERY— NEW  MEETING  HOUSE — A  LOOK 
INSIDE— WOOD  AND  OIL— SELLING  THE  TOLLING — BANNS  OF 
MARRIAGE — FACING  THE  SITUATION— MISTAKEN  SOULS — 
ANTI  RUM — 61  AUTOGRAPHS — MORMANS  ARRIVE — EXCITEMENT 
IN  CHESTERFIELD — THE  OLD  BARN — THE    CALEDONIAN. 


LITTLE    HOUSE    OF    MEETING 


"And  it  came  to  pass  that  every  one  that  sought  Jehovah  went  out  unto 
the  Tent  of  Meeting. ' '     Exodus  33: 7. 

Before  the  erection  of  the  Tabernacle  on  the  Plain  of  Sinai 
there  was  this  temporary  Tent  of  Meeting.  On  the  Plain  of  St. 
Johnsbury  they  had  a  House  of  Meeting  before  the  real  Meeting 
House  was  built. 

There  was  a  small  house  at  the  head  of  the  Plain  which  tradi- 
tion says  had  been  used  successively  as  a  dwelling,  a  store,  a 
distillery,  a  meat  market.  All  this  did  not  exhaust  the  variety  of 
uses  to  which  it  was  destined.  In  1818  it  was  moved  down  to  a 
spot  near  the  head  of  what  is  now  Maple  street  and  made  over  by 
David  Smith  for  a  temporary  house  of  worship.  This  was  done 
chiefly  at  the  expense  of  Luther  Clark.  There  were  rows  of 
benches,  a  platform  and  a  desk  at  the  upper  end,  also  a  Canadian 
box  stove,  the  first  one  that  ever  contributed  warmth  to  a  relig- 
ious service  in  the  town.  Hubbard  Lawrence  attended  to  the 
stove  ;  he  brought  bark  and  fire  wood  from  his  tannery,  kindled 


212  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  fire,  then  set  out  with  his  long  sleigh  to  pick  up  those  who 
could  not  walk  and  bring  them  in.  This  became  the  place  of  wor- 
ship for  people  living  on  the  Plain  who  had  hitherto  gone  up  to 
the  Old  Meeting  House  on  the  Hill.  Seven  years  later  nineteen 
members  of  the  old  First  Church  were  set  off  as  a  colony,  con- 
stituting the  second,  now  the  North  Church,  which  for  two  years 
longer  occupied  this  little  building.  Here  two  of  the  active  men 
of  the  community,  Hezekiah  Martin  and  Lovell  Moore,  were  mar- 
ried at  the  close  of  the  evening  meeting,  April  14,  1819.  Her 
temperance  meetings  and  debating  societies,  clubs  and  miscel- 
laneous gatherings  brought  people  together  more  easily  and 
frequently  than  ever  before. 

AN   INSIDE    GLIMPSE 

Mrs.  Lydia  Jones  gave  the  writer  these  reminiscences.  On 
one  side  of  the  platform  was  the  pulpit  and  on  the  other  the 
singers'  seats,  a  low  fence  or  partition  between  them.  Near  it 
Mr.  Melvin  used  to  stand ;  he  was  ninety  years  old  and  so  deaf 
that  he  stood  holding  his  ear  trumpet  by  the  side  of  the  minister 
the  entire  time  that  he  was  speaking.  On  the  other  side  was  a 
chair  sometimes  occupied  by  the  minister's  wife,  sometimes  by  in- 
firm women  like  the  blind  man's  wife  ;  she  used  to  go  up  the 
whole  length  of  the  aisle  bowed  down  nearly  to  the  top  of  her 
staff ;  she  wore  a  short  scarlet  cloak  trimmed  with  black,  and 
with  a  hood  ;  when  she  had  taken  her  seat  she  removed  her  bon- 
net and  let  the  red  hood  fall  back.  In  his  prayer  the  minister, 
Mr.  Johnson,  said  :  "Raise  up  those  that  are  bowed  down,  relieve 
the  distressed,  succor  the  tempted,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead  for 
the  widow,  remember  all  who  are  sick  and  such  as  are  old  and 
grey-headed  in  sin,  may  they  yet  be  brought  in  as  shocks  of  corn 
fully  ripe."  The  keen  memory  of  the  narrator  also  brought  up 
over  sixty  intervening  years,  words  that  were  spoken  in  the 
prayer  meeting  by  Joseph  Fairbanks,  Senior.  She  added  that 
the  chances  for  sleeping  during  the  sermon  were  not  very  good 
in  those  days,  recalling  how  her  aunt  Mrs.  Nat.  Brown  of  the 
Four  Corners  rose  from  her  seat  one  Sunday,  reached  over  the 
heads  of  people  front  of  her,  and  roused  good  Deacon  Clark  from 
his  nap  with  the  point  of  her  umbrella. 


NOTES  OF  PROGRESS  213 

After  nine  years'  service  for  religious  purposes  the  Little 
House  of  Meeting  reverted  to  its  former  estate  as  a  store  ;  then 
it  became  a  school  house,  in  which  Jonathan  Arnold's  daughter 
Freelove  was  mistress ;  then  in  1837,  it  was  equipped  with  a 
printing  press  from  which  issued  the  first  volumes  of  The  Cale- 
donian ;  then  it  again  returned  to  private  use  as  a  dwelling  house, 
occupied  by  Russell  Hallett ;  in  those  days  it  was  decorated  with 
strings  of  straw  hats  braided  by  the  expert  hands  of  Mrs.  Hallett  ; 
then  it  was  moved  down  the  street  and  was  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Grinnell  and  of  William  Fuller  the  stage  driver,  till  1885,  when  its 
varied  career  was  terminated  by  the  men  who  tore  it  down  to 
make  way  for  the  Passumpsic  Savings  Bank  Block. 

MEETING   HOUSE   ON   THE    PLAIN 

In  the  summer  of  1827  the  building  called  by  this  name  was 
erected  on  the  spot  where  the  North  Church  now  stands.  The 
lot,  valued  at  $300,  was  given  by  Dea.  Luther  Clark.  The  east 
gable  end  of  the  building  fronted  the  street ;  there  was  no  vesti- 
bule ;  the  bell  rope  hung  down  beside  the  pulpit ;  the  boys  of  the 
congregation  got  more  entertainment  out  of  the  gyrations  of  the 
bell  ringer  than  from  some  other  parts  of  the  service.  The  pulpit 
was  between  the  two  entrance  doors;  the  singer's  gallery  was 
high  up  across  the  west  end.  On  entering,  one  had  to  meet  the 
gaze  of  the  congregation  which  ordinarily  filled  the  house.  The 
pews  were  high  backed  with  doors  rising  nearly  three  feet  from 
the  floor.  The  congregation  stood  during  the  long  prayer,  the 
length  of  which  went  on  toward  half  an  hour.  During  the  singing, 
turning  their  backs  to  the  pulpit  they  faced  the  twenty  to  thirty 
singers  who  filled  the  gallery  behind  the  turkey-red  screens. 

There  were  four  services,  all  well  attended.  Nearly  all  the 
congregation  remained  for  the  Sunday  School,  merely  changing 
their  seats.  Erastus  Fairbanks  was  Superintendent,  and  later  his 
younger  brother  Joseph.  James  Johnson  was  the  first  minister, 
and  after  him  John  H.  Worcester,  whose  father,  Rev.  Leonard 
Worcester  of  Peacham,  might  be  seen  occasionally  sitting  on  the 
platform,  his  long  silvery  locks  crowning  a  dignified  and  striking 
figure. 


214  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

This  meeting  house  had  the  first  bell  in  the  town,  also  the 
first  organ  ;  some  incidents  relating  to  these  are  given  elsewhere. 
In  1847  the  building  was  rolled  down  the  street  and  planted  on 
the  edge  of  the  old  burial  ground,  where  it  now  stands  directly 
south  of  the  Court  House.  In  1856  it  became  by  gift  the  property 
of  the  Academy. 

GETTING   WOOD   AND   OIL 

'  'Voted,  to  sell  the  furnishing  of  two  cords  of  dry  and  four  cords  of  green 
hard  wood  cut  fit  for  the  stoves  at  the  meeting  house  and  to  be  put  in  to  the 
shed  at  said  house,  at  auction,  and  Ephraim  Jewett  bid  it  off  at  ten  and  six- 
pence ($1.75)  per  cord  solid  measure. 

"Voted,  to  sell  the  furnishing  of  oil  for  the  meeting  house  at  auction  ; 
and  Ephraim  Jewett  bid  it  off  at  one  dollar  and  thirty-two  cents  per  gallon, 
to  be  good  oil — whale  oil. 

"Voted,  to  sell  the  tolling  of  the  bell  for  funerals  at  auction  ;  and  Heze- 
kiah  Martin  bid  it  off  at  twenty  five  cents  each  time. 

"The  bell  ringingfor  meetings,  building  of  fires,  sweeping  paths  in  winter 
and  trimming  and  filling  of  lamps  in  the  meeting  house  for  one  year,  was  bid 
off  at  fourteen  dollars." 

Records  Jan.  21,  1839. 

PROCLAMATION    OF   THE    BANNS 

Formerly  the  publishing  of  the  bannsi  of  marriage  was  a  state 
ordinance.  The  required  announcement  might  be  posted  on  the 
church  doors  or  given  out  from  the  pulpit.  In  the  early  settle- 
ment there  were  no  church  doors  nor  pulpits  from  which  to  publish 
these  intentions.  The  banns  were  probably  given  out  by  the 
town  clerk,  a  legal  certificate  handed  to  the  groom,  and  entry 
made  on  the  town  records.  The  record  of  the  first  marriage  in 
the  town  in  1793,  states  that  a  certificate  of  legal  publication  hav- 
ing been  produced,  the  parties  were  married  by  Dr.  Arnold.  We 
find  that  Josias  L.  Arnold  and  Susan  Perkins  were  legally  pub- 
lished in  February  1795.  In  December  of  the  same  year  Samuel 
Ladd  of  Haverhill  and  Cynthia  Hastings,  widow  of  Jonathan 
Arnold  were  legally  published.  William  C.  Arnold  and  Lucy 
Gardiner  were  published  legally  for  marriage  15th  of  November 


NOTES  OF  PROGRESS  215 

1796.  It  says  they  were  married  13th  of  November  1796,  by  Dr. 
Joseph  Lord,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses.  If  we  admit  the  cor- 
rectness of  both  these  dates,  here  was  a  marriage  ceremony  two 
days  before  the  publishing  of  the  banns.  Probably  November 
13,  was  intended  for  both  entries. 

In  1822,  there  being  no  minister,  Dea.  Luther  Clark,  Town 
Clerk,  had  the  conduct  of  the  Sunday  service.  At  the  close  he 
faced  the  situation  resolutely,  saying,  "I  wish  to  announce  that 
Miss  Pamelia  Porter  and  myself  intend  marriage."  Rev.  John  H. 
Worcester  in  1843,  intending  to  marry  Martha  Clark,  daughter  of 
the  aforesaid  Luther  and  Pamelia  Clark,  escaped  the  ordeal  of 
publishing  the  banns  by  exchanging  pulpits  the  Sunday  preceed- 
ing  the  marriage.  His  supply,  an  elderly  brother,  said  after  the 
long  prayer — "marriage  is  intended  between  Rev.  John  H.  Wor- 
cester and  Miss  Martha  P.  Clark.  We  will  sing  hymn  140." 
"Mistaken  souls  that  dream  of  heaven! " 

Watts  and  Select,  Bk.  1. 

ANTI-RUM    AGITATION 

For  forty  years  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  was  common,  not  to 
say  universal,  in  this  and  other  towns  of  that  period.  Rum  had 
been  reckoned  one  of  the  necessaries  of  life;  it  was  freely  distrib- 
uted, sold  at  stores  and  taverns;  and  was  regarded  as  an  essen- 
tial enlivener  of  social  occasions,  musters,  raisings,  huskings, 
balls  and  even  the  more  dignified  meets  of  ecclesiastical  bodies. 

From  about  the  year  1810  serious  thought  began  to  be  given 
the  matter  by  those  who  had  the  public  welfare  of  the  town  at 
heart.  The  church  on  the  hill  had  recently  been  organized,  and 
presently  among  occasions  for  discipline  we  find  intoxication  was 
included.  In  1818  this  was  publicly  referred  to  as  one  of  the 
earlier  prevailing  evils  that  was  less  frequent  than  formerly : 
"Magistrates  would  now  refuse  to  license  a  house  that  was  known 
to  be  a  resort  for  tipplers  ;"  individuals  used  strong  drink  but 
the  drunkard  on  the  streets  was  becoming  rare.  The  improved 
conditions  however  did  not  progress  as  rapidly  as  was  anticipated. 
Old  usages  were  very  strongly  entrenched  and  only  a  minority  in 
the  community  cared  to  combat  them.      But  this  minority,  urgent 


216 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


for  sobriety  and  social  order,  solicitous  for  the  future  of  the  grow- 
ing boys,  kept  perseveringly  at  work  endeavoring  to  establish  a 
wholesome  public  sentiment.  In  1829  one  of  them  wrote  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"In  this  town  we  keep  up  a  steady,  moderate  warfare  against 
the  old  wizard  Intemperance.  Just  now  about  forty  men  have 
signed  the  Constitution  of  a  total  abstinence  society.  No  one 
has  been  urged  ;  nothing  done  or  said  to  induce  any  one  to  sign 
further  than  to  calmly  name  the  subject,  show  the  Constitution 
and  let  them  act  uninfluenced  except  by  their  own  cool  judg- 
ment." The  little  old  book  in  which  those  forty  autographs  were 
written,  with  twenty-one  more  presently  added,  is  now  preserved 
at  the  Athenaeum,  a  very  interesting  relic  of  the  men  of  that 
period.  As  this  was  a  turning  point  in  the  history  of  the  town  on 
one  of  its  most  important  public  questions,  those  61  names  repre- 
senting the  unbiased  judgment  of  the  signers  are  entered  on  this 
page,  not  including  one  which  is  indistinctly  written : — 


I^uther  Clark 
John    Barney 
Alanson  Crossman 
Sam'l  Crossman 
Thomas  Bishop 
Moses  Kittredge 
Erastus  Fairbanks 
Jos.  P.  Fairbanks 
Charles  Hosmer 
l,uther  Jewett 
Wm.  C.  Arnold 
Epbraim  Jewett 
Thos.  McKnight 
James  Melvin 
fester  Rice 


Jubal  Harrington 
Ezekiel  Vose 
Joseph  Stiles 
Hull  Curtis 
Titus  Snell 
Chester  Guy 
George  Stone 
Augustus  Monroe 
I^an  son  1,.  Rice 
James  Ramsey 
I,uther  Jewett,  Jr. 
James  C.  Fuller 
Edmund  Hallett 
Ira  Davis 
Hezekiah  Martin 


James  Wheaton 
Geo.  C.  Barney 
Isaac  Harrington 
Ebenezer  Severance 
Jonathan  I.  Hastings 
Geo.  W.  Fielding 
Jacob  Sanderson 
James  Johnson 
Willard  Cook 
Erastus  Fielding 
Geo.  C.  Wheeler 
Wm.  T.  Porter 
Benjamin  Eaton 
I^ewis  Snell 
Valentine  Clement 


Robert  Swett 
Mark  C.  Webster 
James  Harris 
David  D.  Hoyt 
Baruch  Snell 
Nelson  Wright 
Charles  Johnson 
Jonathan  Marsh 
Willard  Kneelaud 
Samuel  Eaton ,  Jr. 
J.  S.  Johnson 
Erastus  Clifford 
Joseph  Clark 
John  Rowlun 
Elisha  Peck 


We  note  here  the  names  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  influen- 
tial men  of  the  town ;  some  others  equally  interested  were  in  this 
movement  tho  it  happens  that  their  signatures  do  not  appear. 
The  paper  is  drawn  up  in  the  handwriting  of  Luther  Clark,  mer- 
chant and  town  clerk.  The  moral  influence  of  such  a  combination 
of  total  abstainers  at  that  period  was  unquestionably  great. 
Quarterly  public  meetings  were  held,  and  thus  began  the  work  of 
The  St.  Johnsbury  Temperance  Society. 


NOTES  OF  PROGRESS  217 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  three  months  later,  announce- 
ment was  made  in  the  Farmer's  Herald  by  Dea.  Luther  Clark  that 
beginning  with  the  month  of  June  1829,  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits 
would  be  entirely  discontinued  at  Clarks  and  Bishop's,  the  princi- 
pal store  in  the  town.  This  circumstance  was  well  calculated  to 
make  a  sensation.  Other  events  were  influencing  the  public  senti- 
ment. "In  the  north  part  of  our  town  two  buildings  were  erected 
last  week  without  the  use  of  ardent  spirit,  neither  was  any  used 
in  the  framing.  Both  employers  and  workmen  were  better 
pleased  than  with  their  former  custom,  and  they  deserve  the 
thanks  of  every  friend  of  temperance  and  humanity."  In  1830, 
two  of  the  military  companies  of  the  town  voted  to  dispense  with 
the  usual  beverages  at  a  public  parade  to  be  held  in  Lyndon.  On 
the  Fourth  of  July  that  year  it  was  noted  with  great  satisfaction 
that  no  spirits  were  served  on  the  tables  during  the  celebration  at 
the  East  Village  and  that  very  few  men  were  seen  sipping  at  the 
hotel  bar. 

Seven  years  later  however,  19,000  gallons  were  reported  as 
sold  in  this  and  eight  neighboring  towns ;  which  amount  if 
divided  equally  would  give   2111  gallons  to  each  town. 

THE    MORMON    INVASION       1835 

In  1900  two  men  called  at  No.  6  Park  street  to  make  inquiry 
about  the  early  church  records  of  the  town.  Their  errand  was  to 
get  information  about  their  parents  who  they  thought  might  have 
been  baptised  in  the  Old  First  Church.  Presently  they  announced 
themselves  as  Mormon  Elders  from  Utah,  sons  of  William  Snow 
who  was  born  here  in  1806,  and  of  Erastus  Fairbanks  Snow  born 
in  1818,  both  of  whom  early  followed  Joseph  Smith  and  ulti- 
mately became  Mormon  apostles.  St.  Johnsbury  had  long  lost 
sight  of  her  distinguished  sons  of  Mormondom ;  but  after  this 
visit  of  the  younger  Snows  some  threads  of  Mormon  history  were 
gathered  up  from  various  sources  and  are  here  put  on  record. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Joseph  Smith,  a  native  of  Sharon, 
Vt.,  launched  his  new  religion  in  1830,  and  pushed  the  propaganda 
with  tremendous  energy.  In  a  narrative  of  reminiscences  given 
out   many  years  afterward,   Smith  himself  is  named  as  the  man 


218  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

who  came  here  in  1835  with  some  of  his  zealots  and  created  a 
sensation.  As  to  the  man  who  headed  the  invasion  there  may  be 
some  question,  but  none  whatever  as  to  the  stir  that  was  made. 
Headquarters  were  in  the  Chesterfield  district,  north  of  East  Vil- 
lage ;  the  Snow  farms  were  in  that  neighborhood  and  one  of  their 
barns  was  used  for  a  meeting  house.  Among  other  things  the 
leader  claimed  the  power  to  heal  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and 
many  sick  people  came  or  were  brought  to  him  with  great  ex- 
pectations ;  in  the  crowd  was  a  woman  who  had  been  for  years  in 
her  bed ;    one  who  saw  her  that  day  says  she  got  no  good. 

The  popular  excitement  however  continued,  many  were 
converted  and  baptized  in  the  stream  that  ran  near  the 
barn ;  this  performance  drew  large  crowds  ;  at  one  time 
a  boy  who  had  climbed  a  tree  to  get  a  better  view,  slipped  and 
fell  plump  in  to  the  water,  receiving  what  was  called  an  involun- 
tary baptism.  Benoni  Chase,  a  blind  man  who  had  considerable 
property  "was  persuaded  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Mormons  and 
was  never  heard  of  afterwards."  Quite  a  number  of  families  of 
the  town,  including  the  Snows,  sold  their  farms  and  went  off  with 
Smith  to  the  Promised  Land,  which  at  that  time  was  Kirtland, 
Ohio.  They  went  in  large  canvas-covered  wagons,  men,  women 
and  children  and  all  their  household  goods.  Seventy  years  after- 
wards a  woman  who  witnessed  the  scene  said,  "I  remember 
seeing  them  start  off,  and  one  woman  stopped  as  they  passed  the 
East  Village  grave-yard,  and  went  in  to  visit  her  child's  grave  be- 
fore they  left  the  place  forever." 

Erastus  Fairbanks  Snow  was  ordained  one  of  the  twelve 
apostles  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints  in  1849,  and  for  nearly  forty 
years  magnified  his  apostolic  mission.  He  had  good  natural 
ability  and  was  said  to  be  superior  to  Brigham  Young  as  a 
preacher.  In  the  Southern  States  he  made  hundreds  of  converts  ; 
it  was  chiefly  thro  his  energetic  management  that  the  first  Mor- 
mon Temple  in  Utah  was  built.  William  Snow  was  one  of  the 
two  first  Mormon  pioneers  to  enter  the  Salt  Lake  Valley ;  he  too 
became  an  Apostle.  A  younger  brother,  also  born  in  St.  Johns- 
bury,  Zerubbabel  Snow,  was  appointed  by  President  Fillmore  one 
of   the   first   chief  justices   of   Utah.      Congressman   Landis   of 


NOTES  OF  PROGRESS  219 

Indiana  in  one  of  his  speeches  on  the  Roberts  case  called  the 
Snows  the  leading  advisers  of  Brigham  Young,  and  remarked  that 
"they  were  the  most  consistent  Mormons  in  the  whole  bunch." 

THE  MORMON  BARN 

After  the  migration  of  the  Snows  there  was  not  much  left  to 
make  Chesterfield  a  popular  resort.  In  after  years  the  memory 
of  the  Mormon  invasion  was  vividly  ^recalled  by  some  who  were 
youngsters  at  the  time.  A  man  in  his  eighty-third  year  told 
about  the  Sunday  meetings  in  the  barn.  "There  was  a  big 
crowd  that  gathered  at  the  Snow  barn.  The  Mormon  Elders  sat 
along  the  high  beams.  They  let  the  women  folks  in  lower  down 
like,  and  gave  them  seats  in  the  bay.  The  other  men  and  we 
boys  were  packed  in  helter-skelter  all  around  the  best  we  could. 
It  was  Sunday  but  a  regular  holiday  for  everybody. " 

That  old  barn  is  still  standing,  on  the  Abiel  Hovey  farm,  and 
is  familiarly  spoken  of  as  "the  meeting  house" — a  meeting  house 
lamentably  out  of  repair,  fit  haunt  for  screech  owls  and  bats. 
During  the  Mormon  occupation  it  stood  on  the  meadow  by  Gage's 
brook,  not  far  from  the  highway  ;  now  it  is  in  the  edge  of  the 
maple  grove  on  the  hillside,  and  is  used  for  a  sugar  house.  While 
going  up  to  visit  this  ancient  shrine  the  other  day,  the  shrill  note 
of  a  whip-poor-will,  unusual  hereabout,  seemed  to  be  vehemently 
lashing  it,  as  if  determined  to  wake  whatever  old  time  memories 
might  be  slumbering  under  its  mouldering  roof. 

THE    CALEDONIAN 

"Here  shall  the  Press  the  People's  Rights  maintain, 
Unawed  by  influence  and  unbribed  by  gain  ; 
Here  patriot  Truth  her  glorious  precepts  draw, 
Pledged  to  Religion,  Liberty  and  Law." 

These  words  from  Joseph  Story  stood  for  eighteen  years  at 
the  head  of  the  editorial  column  of  The  Caledonian.  They  set 
forth  with  exactness  the  spirit  and  endeavor  of  its  founder.  At 
the  solicitation  of  prominent  citizens,  Albert  G.  Chadwick  came 
here  from  Concord,  N.  H.,  in  1837  and  established  The  Caledo- 
nian, the  first  number  of  which  was  printed  on  his  hand  press  in  a 


220  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

small  building  once  used  for  a  house  of  worship  near  the  head  of 
Maple  street.  It  was  a  felicitous  thought  that  selected  for  this  paper 
a  name  so  distinctive  and  so  appropriate  to  its  location  ;  there  was 
dignity  alike  in  the  name  and  in  the  ideal  as  outlined  in  the  saluta- 
tory, viz  : — 

"We  this  week  present  to  the  public  the  first  number  of  the  Cale- 
donian. *  *  This  paper  will  advocate  and  sustain  the  interests  of  the 
Whig  party  so  far  as  they  shall  tend  to  promote  the  good  of  the  people,  the 
protection  of  American  industry,  strict  accountability  to  the  people  of  public 
servants,  the  cause  of  temperance  and  equal  rights.  *  *  Our  press  shall 
be  free ;  free  to  discuss  all  subjects  that  relate  to  our  freedom  as  a  nation 
from  tyranny  in  every  form.  To  be  free  as  a  people  we  must  drink  deep  of 
the  spirit  of  Christianity,  be  clothed  in  its  strength  ;  its  high  and  holy  in- 
fluences must  be  the  spring  of  all  our  motives  and  actions  ;  we  must  partic- 
ipate in  its  nature  and  receive  its  principles  in  to  our  hearts.  To  be  free  we 
must  be  intelligent ;  must  exercise  the  high  prerogatives  of  free  men,  the 
personal  right  to  inquire,  examine,  and  exercise  our  own  judgment  on  every 
subject  which  has  relation  to  the  present  and  future  interests  of  humanity." 

These  were  more  than  pleasant  words,  they  were  profound 
convictions ;  to  carry  out  their  spirit  the  editor  gave  himself  with 
untiring  energy  and  ability  for  eighteen  years,  and  won  for  the 
Caledonian  a  place  among  the  foremost  journals  of  the  state. 
Mr.  Chadwick's  public  spirit  and  activity  in  every  good  cause 
made  him  a  valued  public  servant ;  he  held  many  positions  of 
trust  and  honor.  He  married  Capt.  Martin's  daughter  Helen,  and 
built  the  white  cottage  now  adjoining  St.  Aloysius  on  the  north.  In 
1855  he  sold  the  paper  to  Rand,  Stone  and  Company  and  two  years 
later  C.  M.  Stone  became  sole  proprietor  of  The  Caledonian, 
which  he  edited  with  signal  ability  till  his  death  in  1890.  Like 
his  predecessor,  Mr.  Stone  was  a  man  of  convictions  ;  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  sound  a  clear  note  on  all  current  questions,  whether 
with  or  against  the  views  of  many  of  his  readers.  Under  his  edi- 
torial conduct  for  thirty-three  years  The  Caledonian  gained  repute 
as  an  independent  journal  respected  for  its  outspoken  opinions,  its 
clean  and  wholesome  principles.  Its  high  character  was  main- 
tained with  filial  fidelity  for  nineteen  years  by  Arthur  F.  Stone, 
who  in  1889  had  obtained  a  half  interest  with  his  father  in  the 
paper.  After  being  held  for  fifty-five  years  in  one  family  the 
Caledonian  was  purchased  in  1909  by  W.  J.  Bigelow  of  Burling- 


NOTES  OF  PROGRESS  221 

ton,  whose  experience  on  the  staff  of  the  Free  Press  and  as  Mayor 
of  the  City  gave  him  special  fitness  for  editorial  management. 
The  Caledonian  goes  in  to  the  last  quarter-century  of  its  career 
with  a  dignified,  forceful  and  fearless  voice  on  all  public  issues. 

THE    NEWSPAPER    OF    1837 

We  are  interested  to  see  what  our  people  found  to  read  in  the 
first  issue  of  their  new  paper  called  The  Caledonian.  We  look  in 
vain  for  a  column  of  local  items.  Aside  from  advertisements  and 
announcement  of  Dea.  John  Clark's  death  by  being  thrown  from 
his  chaise  while  going  down  Sand  Hill,  there  is  little  to  indicate 
that  St.  Johnsbury  was  in  the  world  of  events  seventy-five  years 
ago.  If  Jones'  hen  had  laid  an  eggt  or  Smith's  girl  was  on 
a  visit  to  her  aunt,  the  public  is  not  informed.  State  politics, 
Van  Burenism,  foreign  advices,  good  family  reading  cover  the 
field  of  intelligence.     The  excerpts  that  follow  are  samples. 

"The  Peoples'  Convention;  Anti-Van  Buren.  The  Green  Mountain 
Boys  are  emphatically  awake.  A  larger  Convention  was  never  holden  in 
Vermont  ;  more  than  700  were  present  at  Montpelier,  from  all  parts  of  the 
state.  We  can  truly  say  we  never  saw  a  more  dignified  assembly  of  men. 
Coming  as  they  did  from  various  and  distant  sections,  at  a  most  hurrying 
season  of  the  year,  at  a  time  when  the  best  men  could  hardly  get  money 
enough  to  buy  a  dinner,  to  consult  together  for  the  public  good,  we  may 
well  conclude  that  Vermont  is  awake,  emphatically  awake. 

Death  of  the  King \  The  ship  Harold  from  Liverpool  14th  of  June,  ar- 
rived at  Boston  the  24th  of  July.  Information  that  specie  payments  had 
been  suspended  by  our  banks  had  produced  considerable  consternation  in 
England.  Advices  from  London  the  20th  of  June  announce  the  death  of  King 
William  that  day.  The  Princess  Victoria  becomes  by  this  event,  Queen  of 
England. 

Notice.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Anti-Slavery  Society 
will  be  held  in  the  Congregational  Meeting  House  at  the  Center  Village, 
Wednesday,  6  Sept.,  2  o'clock  P.  M.  Nathan  Stone,  Sec. 

Joe  Smith,  who  made  the  late  emission  of  Mormon  bank  notes  is  a  lead- 
ing Van  Buren  man. 

Emigrants  from  Great  Britain  not  being  able  to  get  employment,  are 
returning  by  the  New  York  packets.  They  will  go  back  well  cured  of  Van 
Burenism  which  has  made  such  havoc  of  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 


222  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

To  Clothiers.  Shedd  and  Jewett  have  on  hand  the  following  Dye  Stuffs, 
—Logwood,  Madder,  Alum,  Nicaragua,  Fustic,  Cam  Wood,  Blue  Vitriols, 
Copperas,  Nut  Galls. 

For  The  Caledonian.  Freeman  of  Vermont :  As  Martin  Van  Buren  has 
declared  he  will  veto  any  law  made  by  Congress  for  abolishing  slavery  in 
that  place  which  ought  to  be  the  citadel  of  Freedom,  so  let  your  ballots  veto 
what  little  influence  he  now  has  in  this  state,  and  re-assert  that  part  of  our 
Constitution  which  declares  that  all  men  are  born  equally  free  and  independ- 
ent. 


FIRST 

|VIeETINgHoi]5E 
1804 


pRST  ^lCAPEMY 
1843. 


F1R.ST 


^t.JohnsburyHouje 
J     1850 


XVIII 


EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 


A  TURNING  POINT— THREE  VILLAGES — INVENTORY — APPRAISALS — 
LIVE  STOCK — DOCTORS — AILS  AND  REMEDIES — OLD  TIPPE- 
CANOE—EXUBERANT  WHIGS. 


MDCCCXL 

It  is  not  probable  that  anyone  living  here  in  1840  recalled  the 
fact  that  that  was  the  semi-centennial  year  of  the  organization  of 
the  town.  The  period  for  retrospect  was  yet  a  long  way  off ; 
local  history  was  of  no  consequence  whatever.  Everybody  was 
busy  with  the  day's  jobs  or  happenings  in  the  leisurely  fashion  of 
a  small  country  community.  About  25  houses  were  strung  along 
either  side  of  the  street  on  the  Plain.  Ephraim  Jewett  sold  dry 
goods,  J.  C.  Bingham  distributed  drugs,  Capt.  Martin  built  sad- 
dles, Hull  Curtis  cut  coats  and  pantaloons,  George  Barney  pegged 
shoes  and  shouted  for  Van  Buren,  William  Fuller  drove  the  stage, 
Moses  Kittredge  handed  out  the  mail,  and  John  Crossman  reeled 
off  creels  of  stories  in  the  stores  or  wherever  else  men  did  con- 
gregate. Familiar  names  at  the  East  Village  were  Harrington, 
Lee,  Morrill,  Severance,  Goodall,  Chapman,  Blinn  ;  at  the  Cen- 
ter, Bacon,  Hallett,  Ide,  Butler,  Morse,  Pierce,  Cobb,  Ranney, 
Wright,  Ayer,  Shorey,  Stiles.  A  few  of  the  early  fathers  of  the 
town  still  lingered  on  the  fields  they  had  won  from  the  forest  in 
their  stalwart  young  manhood — David  Goss,  Simeon  Cobb,  Oliver 
Stevens,  Martin  Wheeler,  Asa  Lee,  Barnabas  Barker,  Nath'l 
Bishop,  Sullivan  Allen,  Abel  Shorey,  Philo  Bradley,  and  Joel 
Roberts,  possibly  others. 


224  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

St.  Johnsbury  was  still  a  quiet  farming  town  with  some 
manufacturing  interests  of  considerable  promise  and  an  increasing 
number  of  intelligent  artisans.  No  one  suspected  however  that  a 
point  of  turning  had  been  reached  and  that  the  wheels  of  industry- 
were  already  beginning  to  shape  a  new  destiny  for  the  town. 
This  view  of  the  situation  is  expressed  in  a  paragraph  written 
forty  years  later  by  a  former  resident : — 

"It  is  a  rare  thing  for  a  staid,  sleepy  old  New  England  town 
to  suddenly  arouse  itself  from  a  fifty  years'  sleep,  and  by  one 
bound  pass  from  the  confines  of  the  grave  to  a  living,  active, 
bustling  town  of  some  thousand  inhabitants — as  the  town  of  St. 
Johnsbury  did  about  1840,  or  after  the  manufacture  of  scales  was 
fairly  under  way."  The  scale  business  at  that  time  was  in  its 
ninth  year ;  Huxham  Paddock's  iron  works  were  in  full  blast  ; 
other  small  mills  and  factories  were  running  briskly.  The  town 
as  at  this  date  was  entered  in  Thompson's  Vermont  as  follows  : — 

ST.   JOHNSBURY 

"A  post  town  in  the  easterly  part  of  Caledonia  County.  The  business  of 
the  town  centers  in  three  villages.  The  Center  Village,  so  called,  lies  upon 
the  Passumpsic  River,  in  the  northerly  part  of  the  town.  In  it  are  three 
meeting  houses,  two  stores,  one  tavern,  a  saw  mill,  grist  mill,  clothier's 
works,  tannery  and  various  mechanics.  The  East  Village,  situated  upon 
Moose  River  is  the  natural  centre  for  the  business  of  parts  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
Waterford,  Concord,  Kirby,  Victory  and  Bradleyvale.  It  contains  a  meeting 
house,  two  stores,  one  tavern,  a  grist  mill,  saw  mill,  oil  mill,  tannery  and 
several  mechanics. 

"The  pleasant  village  called  The  Plain,  containing  a  meeting  house, 
academy,  public  house,  two  stores,  a  printing  office  and  other  mechanics,  is 
in  the  southerly  part  of  the  town  ;  it  is  central  between  Paddock's  Furnace 
and  Fairbanks  Manufactory,  the  former  on  the  Passumpsic  and  the  latter  on 
Sleeper's  River.  The  establishment  of  Mr.  Huxham  Paddock  consists  of  a 
blast  furnace,  and  a  machine  shop  for  the  finishing  of  every  description  of 
mill  gear  and  ordinary  machinery.  Here  also  are  a  grist  and  saw  mill,  a 
carriage  factory,  a  factory  for  making  sash,  doors,  blinds,  etc.,  on  a  respect- 
able scale.  The  establishment  of  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  and  Co.,  is  devoted 
principally  to  the  manufacture  of  cast  iron  plows  and  patent  balances.  The 
latter  article  is  manufactured  by  them  extensively,  being  adapted  to  all  the 
various  operations  required  to  be  transacted  by  weight.  It  has  been  patented 
in  the  United  States  and  in  England  and  is  now  in  extensive  use  in  both 
countries,  possessing  the  entire  confidence  of  the  people." 


EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 

CENSUS    OF    1840 


225 


Population 

Polls 

Houses          Horses 

Oxen 

Cows 

Sheep 

1916 

346 

266                 585 

202 

952 

8088 

Neat  Cattle 

Swine 

Wheat           Barley 

Oats 

Rye 

Corn 

2960 

1383 

24,786  bush.     286 

28,382 

212 

6950 

Buckwheat 

Potatoes 

Hops            Wool 

Sugar 

Wax 

Hay 

1U50 

74,115 

24  lbs.            14,599 

50,520 

56  lbs. 

4953  tons 

The  appraised  value  of  houses  and  lots  was  $80,689  ;  value  of 
dairy  products  $16,610 ;  value  of  household  goods  $5,405.  The 
total  of  improved  land  was  9089  acres,  valuation  $66,558.  Of  the 
population  there  were  362  farmers,  142  manufacturers,  11  profes- 
sional men,  11  revolutionary  pensioners,  2  were  blind  and  one 
a  town  charge.  There  were  682  school  children  ;  20  persons  over 
twenty  years  of  age  could  neither  read  nor  write. 

Some  fragmentary  sample  appraisals  from  the  listers'  books 
are  here  appended : — 


Wm.  C.  Arnold 
100  ac.  land  $1000 

2  horses  60 

7  cows  91 

11  sheep  11 


Ira  Armington 
Tavern  stand        $1800 
Saddler's  shop  250 

Cow  $15,  Horse  $35   50 
1  Chaise    ►  25 


4  Shoats 

13.50  2  Watches                    70 

Capt.  Sam'l    French 

Thaddeus  Fairbanks 

20  ac.  &  Tavern 

1300 

9i  ac.  &  house       3000 

14  horses 

550 

1  carriage                   100 

7  heifers 

25 

Two  watches               50 

3  colts,  yrl. 

30 

Furniture                   200 

E.  and  T.  Fairbanks 

Ephraim  Paddock 

Foundry 

$300 

Land  &  bldgs.       $2700 

Work  Shop 

550 

Live  Stock,  76            349 

Store  House 

300 

Wool,  800  lbs.            240 

Plow  Shop 

75 

500  yds.  Cloth            300 

Scale  Shop 

200 

Huxham  Paddock 

Saw  and  Grist  Mill 

1000 

Furnace,  Foundry 

Counting  house 

350 

machinery           $4000 

David  Goss  Jr. 
183  acres  $2250 

1  saw  mill  250 

4  oxen  85 

12  cows  150 

20 


70        14  sheep 


Luther  Jewett 
i  ac.  &  house       $450 
Stock  medicines    300 

Polly  Ferguson 
i  ac.  &  house       $100 

Abel  Butler 

365  acres     $5450 

Live  Stock,  209  774 

Chaise  45,  Gig    5 

Widow  Polly  Snell 

2  oxen  $70  1  bull  $15 

18  sheep  22,  1  hog  6 

7  Cows  115 


226  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Lambert  Hastings    -  Mrs.  Olive  Hibbard  Stephen  Hawkins 

177  Acres                 $3064  1  Carding  mach.        $400  Gristmill             $100 

Cattle,  horses             801  1  Store                          400  75  Sheep                 85 

Hay,  grain                  125  H.  N.  Roberts  Joel  Roberts 

500  lbs.  wool              125  1  Threshing  Mach.     $100  2  Cows                   $28 

CATTLE 

Up  to  this  date  the  so  called  native  breeds  of  sheep  and  cat- 
tle were  the  only  ones  on  our  farms.  The  old  red  cow  which  has 
been  standing  now  134  years  on  the  field  of  our  state  coat-of-arms 
(as  if  complacently  chewing  her  cud  amidst  the  mutations  of  our 
human  affairs)  is  a  representative  of  the  good  native  stock  first 
brought  to  our  town.  The  original  of  the  native  red  cow  was  un- 
doubtedly the  English  Devon,  early  imported  by  the  fathers  of 
New  England.  An  introduction  of  new  stock  in  to  this  town  was 
made  in  1846  by  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks,  whose  imported  Herefords 
attracted  attention  by  their  large  bulk  and  white  heads.  He  also 
enriched  his  fine  flock  of  sheep  by  the  addition  of  some  valuable 
Cotswolds  ;  these  yielded  in  lambs  and  wool  a  profit  one  spring 
of  $4.75  each  in  a  flock  of  forty-one.  On  the  spot  where  they 
were  folded  is  a  residence  now  known  as  The  Sheepcote. 

"The  droves  of  cattle  come  along;  a  dust-haze  down  the  road,  the 
mooing  of  cows  and  the  baaing  of  calves  and  the  shouts  of  the  drovers,  the 
sound  of  many  hoofs,  and  the  cattle  are  here.  The  farmer  saunters  out  to 
look  them  over,  children  come  up  to  see  the  yearlings  with  bits  of  horns  and 
the  stocky  two-year-olds  soft-eyed  or  wild-eyed,  sleek  or  touseled." 

All  beef  and  mutton  for  home  use  was  raised  on  the  near-by 
farms,  but  a  considerable  business  was  growing  up  in  supplying 
city  markets.  Lambert  Hastings,  whose  brick  house  and  spa- 
cious stock  yards  and  barns  were  a  landmark  near  the  -foot  of 
Hastings'  Hill,  was  a  well  known  dealer  in  cattle,  who  made  pe- 
riodic trips  with  his  droves  to  the  Boston  market.  The  only  way 
of  transportation  at  that  time  was  by  tramping  the  entire  distance 
on  foot.  One  day,  this  writer,  then  a  boy,  was  standing  near  a 
store  in  Derry  Lower  Village,  N.  H.  It  happened  that  a  large 
drove  of  cattle  hove  in  sight  coming  down  the  turnpike  from  the 
north  ;  stalking  along  behind  them  was  the  sturdy,  familiar  figure 


EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY  227 

of  Lambert  Hastings.  These  cattle  he  had  driven  from  St.  Johns- 
bury  ;  the  next  day  he  would  have  them  delivered  at  the  shambles 
in  Brighton.  Some  years  later  the  Passumpsic  Railroad  offered 
new  facilities  and  the  old  picturesque  lines  of  cattle  on  the  road 
disappeared  from  view.  The  Boston  Courier  of  Sept.  10,  1855, 
reported  the  freight  bill  of  Lambert  Hastings  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
Vt.,  for  cattle  brought  to  Cambridge  in  one  week,  at  $718.15. 

MEDICAL    MATTERS 

How  the  eleven  professional  men  of  1840  are  to  be  classified 
is  not  entirely  clear.  There  were  two  settled  ministers,  John  H. 
Worcester  at  the  Plain,  Josiah  Morse  at  the  Center  ;  one  lawyer, 
Judge  Paddock;  four  doctors,  Calvin  Jewett,  Morrill  Stevens, 
Geo.  C.  Wheeler  of  the  East  and  Jerry  Dickerman  of  the  Center 
Village — all  of  whom  were  excellent  physicians  in  their  day. 
Luther  Jewett  had  been  doctor,  minister,  congressman,  editor, 
and  was  of  course  one  of  the  professional  eleven ;  the  other  three 
do  not  appear. 

Dr.  Calvin  Jewett,  a  spirited  and  patriotic  citizen  had 
been  here  nearly  twenty  years  and  had  a  large  practice.  He  built 
the  house  which  is  now  the  Girls'  Cottage  of  the  Academy,  also 
the  original  of  the  house  just  north  of  the  South  Church,  in  which 
he  lived  and  died.  Near  by  it  was  the  small  box  of  an  office — 
popularly  denominated  pill-shop  or  snuff-box — painted  pink  on 
the  outside  and  scented  pungently  on  the  inside  with  divers  sorts 
of  drugs  and  medicines.  One  survivor  of  his  ancient  uncouth 
medicine  bottles  of  1840,  now  in  possession  of  the  writer,  still  re- 
tains a  fragment  of  the  old  label  and  some  fifty  doses  of  the 
original  ipecac  that  failed  of  getting  into  the  juvenile  stomachs  of 
that  period. 

Dr.  Morrill  Stevens  lived  in  a  small  house  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Post  Office,  near  the  village  pump.  When  his  brother 
Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  came  up  from  Pennsylvania,  and  riding 
across  the  Plain  with  his  coach  and  span  driven  by  a  negro  in 
livery,  drew  up  at  the  Doctor's  door,  that  small  house  assumed 
importance  in  the  popular  eye.  The  Doctor  like  his  brother  was 
a  pronounced  abolitionist  and  kept   anti-slavery   literature   in  his 


228  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

house  for  distribution.  He  was  a  good  physician  and  much  re- 
spected as  a  man.  Jonathan  Arnold  was  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Stevens.  The  two  sons,  Thaddeus  and  Alanson,  left  orphans  in 
1847,  were  taken  to  Pennsylvania  by  their  uncle  Thaddeus ;  they 
became  officers  in  the  Union  Army  ;  Alanson,  while  leading  a 
dash  to  recover  his  guns  at  Chickamauga,  was  shot,  and  his  body 
left  on  the  field  was  never  found. 

MEDICAL    PRACTICE    IN    1840 

Dr.  Morrill  Stevens  submitted  the  following  statement,  which 
illustrates  methods  then  in  use  : — 

"Horace  Goss  suffered  fracture  of  the  leg  from  a  falling  tree.  The  frac- 
ture was  readily  reduced  ;  the  patient  was  comfortable  and  in  good  spirits 
for  twelve  hours.  Then  stupor  set  in  and  twelve  hours  later  coma.  Dr. 
Wheeler  was  called  in  as  counsel.  Leg  appeared  well,  but  pulse  was  90  and 
breath  labored.  Practice  instituted  was  to  bleed  from  arm  with  irritants  at 
back  of  neck.  No  improvement.  Dr.  Alexander  was  called  in.  Disease 
was  pronounced  inflammation  of  the  brain.  Patient  was  bled  from  jugu" 
lar  vein  and  snow  was  applied  to  head  in  bladders.  Eight  hours  later  no 
perceptible  effect.  Pulse  130.  Narcotics  and  stimulants  now  substituted, 
but  patient  sank  and  on  the  fourth  day  expired.  May  not  this  be  the  effect 
of  what  is  technically  called  the  nervous  shock?  The  life  of  this  young  man 
needs  no  eulogy.     His  excellent  qualities  will  long  be  remembered" 

"Small  pox.  After  escaping  the  ravages  of  this  loathsome  disease  it  be- 
hooves every  one  to  be  innoculated,  and  all  who  will  call  soon  I  will  innocu- 
late  gratis.  Should  another  such  case  occur  as  did  in  Waterford  lately, 
yourselves,  your  wives,  your  little  ones,  your  cattle  and  your  pigs  might  fall 
a  prey  to  it."  Dr.  Stevens. 

A  valuable  register  of  maladies  prevalent  in  1840  is  preserved 
in  the  following  local  announcement : — 

"Brandreth's  Pills,  of  which  80,000  boxes  have  been  sold  in  two  years, 
have  cured  thousands  of  people  of  consumption,  influenza,  asthma,  dis- 
pepsia,  headache,  sense  of  fulness,  apoplexy,  jaundice,  fever  and  ague, 
gout,  bilious,  typhus,  scarlet  and  yellow  fever,  rheumatism,  liver  complaint, 
pleurisy,  depression,  rupture,  inflammation,  sore  eyes,  fits,  palsy,  dropsy, 
small  pox,  measles,  croup,  whooping  cough,  quinsy,  cholic,  gravel, 
worms,  dysentery,  cholera  morbus,  deafness,  ringing  noises,  scrofula,  ery- 
sipelas, white  swelling,  ulcer,  cancer,  tumors,  swelled  feet,  St.  Anthony's 
Fire,  salt  rheum,  frightful  dreams,  etc.  etc."     ?  ? 


EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 

REMEDIES   IN   VOGUE  1840 


229 


Some  few  other  resources  our  fathers  had  for  repelling  the 
incursions  of  the  enemy  as  may  be  seen  in  the  list  of  remedies 
put  forth  Aug.  8,  1837,  and  statedly  thereafter  from  Dr.  Jewett's 
Medicine  Shop,  St.  J.  Plain. 


Alcohol 

Antimony 

An's  Cough  Drops 

Alb.  Cora  Plaster 

Anise  Seed 

Aethiops  Min. 

Aqua  Amnion. 

Arsenic 

Arrow  Root 

Asafoetida 

Bismuth  Oxide 

Balsam    Peru 

Benzoic  Acid 

Blistering  Plaster 

Burgundy  Pitch 

Barbadoes  Tar 

British  Antiseptic 

Calomel 

Camphor 

Castor  Oil 

Chloride  Lime 

Castile  Soap 

Cream  Tartar 

Carbonate  Ammonia 

Cautharides 

Copaina  Balsam 

Cowhage 

Cochineal 

Colocyuth 

Cubebs 

Oil  of  Clove 


Sassafras 

Origamum 

Peppermint 

Pennyroyal 

Hemlock 

Tansy 

Wormwood 

Rosemary 

Spike 

Juniper 

Gentian 

Turpentine 

Rhubarb 

Magnesia 

Soda 

Liquorice 

Glamber  Salts 

Ipecac 

Uva  Ursi 

Spirits  Nitre 

Jallop 

Iodine 

Seneka 

Valerian 

Squills 

Tartar  Emetic 

Sugar  Lead 

Rotten  Stone 

Quick  Silver 

Essence  of  Life 

Indian  Plaster 


Lunar  Caustic 
Quinine  Sulph. 
Carb.  Ammonia 
Peruvian  Bark 
White  Vitriol 
vSal  Ammonia 
Carb.  of  Iron 
Toothache  Pills 
Asthmatic  Pills 
Jewett's  Pills 
Hooper's  Pills 
Morrison's  Pills 
Thayer's  Pills 
Brandeth  Pills 
Family  Blue  Pills 
Reeplu  Bon  Drops 
Headache  Snuff 
Vegetable  Pills 
Juniper  Berry 
Prussic  Acid 
Jebb's  Liniment 
Newton's  Panacea 
Hydrate  Potash 
D.  Itch  Ointment 
Carget  Root 
Gold  Thread 
Mandrake 
Motherwort 
Caraway 
Skunk  Cabbage 
Ipecac 


Pectoral  Elixir 

Russell's  Itch  Remedy 

Remedy  for  Piles 

Cure  for  Gravel 

Diachylon  Plaster 

Hydr.  of  Potash 

Corrosive  Sublimate 

Nifflle  Shells 

Nux  Vomica 

Paregoric 

Pulmonary  Balsam 

Sugar  of  Lead 

Unguentum 

Nitric  Acid 

Sperma  Ceti 

Henbane 

Creosote 

Sulphate  Potash 

Sias'  Ointment 

Lavender  Spirits 

Brimstone 

Stramonium 

Cicuta 

Salts  and  Senna 

Black  Mustard 

Elecampane 

Blood-root 

Sassafras 

Hemlock 

Golden  Seal 

Prickly  Ash  Bark 


This  makes  a  modest  assortment  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
four  specifics  in  circulation  among  our  people  at  that  time.  Rye- 
gate  may  have  been  better  supplied  than  St.  Johnsbury,  for  Dr. 
White's  account  books  record  one  hundred  and  forty  remedies 
used,  of  which  physick  was  most  in  demand  having  been  admin- 
istered fifteen  hundred  times. 


PETTY   ACCOUNTS 

"Read  till  your  eyes  go  out,  can  you  gather  from  what  is  called  History 
any  dimmest  shadow  as  to  how  men  lived,  what  wages  they  got,  what  they 
bought  and  sold  ?"  Carlyle 


230  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

It  is  to  answer  the  above  inquiry  in  part  that  a  few  extracts 
are  here  introduced  from  some  old  account  books,  of  periods 
ranging  from  1821  to  1845.  These  small  items  do  not  cover  all 
that  the  sage  of  Craigenputtock  calls  for,  but  they  present  for 
our  enlightenment  a  few  names,  a  few  articles  purchased,  a  few 
types  of  spelling,  a  few  prices  paid.  Details  of  dates  from  day- 
books are  not  necessary  : — 

ACCOUNT  BOOK  OF  ASA  LEE  1821 

Elisher  Griswold    3  lbs.  Shugar  .37     1  lb.  talow  .17 
Huxum  Padok    To  7  lbs.  butter  1.25 

J.  Harrington    Jly  3,  took  1  cow  to  keep  .  Oct.  3,  cow  ret'd 
Benj.  Hadlock    |  bush,  onians  .45    lode  wood  .25 
Elisha  Griswal    To  leather  for  your  wife's  shoes  .75 
Amos  Piper    1  pk  ry  meal  .25    24  punkins  .24 

1  pig  6  wks  oald  $1     1  qurt  wiskey  .25 

ACCOUNT   BOOK   DR.    CALVIN   JEWETT   1836 


Jos.  P.  Fairbanks    To  med.  vis.  babe  (E.  T.  F.)  $1.00 

Hezekiah  Martin    3  doz  Dewees  tinct.  op.  .50 

Eph.  Chamberlin    Call,  consult,  presc.  wife  1.00 

Ezek.  Manchester    4  doz.  pills  box  by  stage  1.00 

Hiram  Knapp    To  vis  med  wife  .50 

John  Houghton    3  doz.  pills  act.  lead  op.  Mother  .50 

David  Drown    vis  med  4  doz  pills    Nancy  .50 

Erastus  Fairbanks    vis  med  to  bleed  wife  .50 

ACCOUNT   BOOK   CHAUNCEY   SPAULDING   1838 

Fred  Bugbee    To  fixing  loom  .25    2  lites  glass  .12 

Making  tung  &  rowl    churn  dash  .25 
J    Ripley    Fixing  bunet  .75    nessarys  for  Padoc  $4.41 
Pat  McMenus    Making  a  raddle  .34    fix  winders  &  puty  .40 
Blake  Powers    Military  book  .63    1  training  fether  .75 
James  Works    To  pig  $1    Paint  sch.  house  $1 
D.  Lee    Making  wood  box  .50    Cart  Ex.  .13 
J.  Spaulding    1  ton  hay  $5    Keeping  5  2  yr.  olds  10  wks  $10 
Joel  Owen    Boarding  school  mistress  2.64    Keeping  Joel's  horse  5  shil, 
a  week 


EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY  231 

ACCOUNT   BOOK   J.    C.    BINGHAM    1840 

Erastus  Fairbanks  2  oz  paregoric  .30    Ess.  pept.  .12 

Solomon  Andrews    pr.  George     1  pint  gin     bloodroot  .25 

Owen  Donegan     1  box  worm  lozenges  .25 

Moses  Kittredge    Qt.  Alcohol,  nearly     .29 

A.  G.  Chadwick    Town  St.  Johnsbury,  pills  .13    ink  .13 

Paddock's  man    1  pint  gin     .11 

Thaddeus  Fairbanks     1  cork  screw  .30 

ACCOUNT   BOOK    CALVIN   STONE    1842 

Ephraim  Jewett    To  raisins  and  walnuts  .04 

Rev.  Hollis  Sampson     10  lbs.  butter  1.25 

Ira  Armington    £  pint  rum  .08 

Titus  Hutchinson    2  pipe  tobacco  .04 

Leonard  Wright    Laying  23  rods  pump  logs  5.00 

Dunbar  Wheeler    Fixing  whippltree  .06 

Jonas  Flint    i  qr.  paper  .13    quills  .03  .16- 

School  District  12    Chalk  .06    2  shts  paper  .02  .08 

DIARY   OF   THE    1840   BOY 

Jan.  2    Old  cat  sick  this  morning    Evening    cat  better 

Jan.  7    Played  games  and  got  hooked  on  the  jaw  bone  of  an  ass 

Jan.  10    Boiled  down  some  maple  syrup  to  sugar  off,  but  it  all  boiled 

over  and  made  a  big  smudge 
Jan.  17    After  school  went  out  to  slide  with  a  whole  slew  of  boys.    Got 

an  old  bucket  fixed  on  for  a  seat  but  it  tipped  us  all  over  going  down 
Jan.  20    Bought  10  cents  worth  of  pictures  of  foxes,  dogs  and  rabbits 
Feb.  4    Skated  ten  miles.     Got  home  and  made  some  skooters 
Feb.  5    Stayed  home  sick.     Got  an  old  clock  to  tinker  on  but  couldn't 

make  it  go 
Feb.  20    We  boys  borrowed  Mr.  Bingham's  old  pung  and  hitched  the 

old  mare  to  it  and  went  off  for  a  ride.     The  old  thing  broke  down  in 

the  middle,  but  we  got  it  back  after  a   good   while  and  didn't  ride 

any  more 
Mch.  14    An  agent  preached  at  the  meeting  house  today  and  I've  forgot 

his  name 
Apr.  13    Went  up  to  devil's  den  with  the  boys,  got  some  ice  but  didn't 

sugar  off 
Apr.  14    Fast  day  and  the  minister  preached  on        ? 
May  10    Went  over  to  Pumpkin  Hill  to  help  buy  a  cow 
May  20    Went  and  bought   a  lantern  for  30  cents  and  lighted   myself 

home 


232  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

May  22     Boys  came  and  we  went  and  had  big  games  of  I  spy  in  the  hay 

mows 
June  2     Studied  some  and  cut  my  hair  and  did  some  other  things 
Sept.  5     Election  day,  everybody  gone  up  to  Center  Village  to  vote 
Sept.  il    Climbed  up  the  night-hawk  tree  and  got  a  peck  of  butternuts 
Sept.  13     Caught  a  woodchuck  and  went  to  put  a  collar  on  to  him,  but 

he  acted  ugly 
Sept.  21     Saw  about  50  ants  carry  off  a  caterpillar.     They  punched  him 
down  in  to  their  hole  with  a  stick  in  their  paws,  the  way  Ben  punches 
dirt  around  a  fence  post  to  make  it   stay   firm.     I   guess   that   cater- 
pillar felt  firm 

THE   WHIGS    OF   1840 

"I  look  with  pride  on  what  the  Whigs  have  done  for  the  cause  of  human 
progress  and  happiness  ;  to  them  is  due  the  establishment  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade,  the  extension  of  popular  education 
and  liberty." 

Macau  lay. 

Political  enthusiasm  ran  high  during  the  William  Henry  Har- 
rison presidential  campaign.  St.  Johnsbury  was  intensely  Whig 
in  sentiment.  As  early  as  Feb.  18,  1840,  a  list  of  two  hundred 
and  twelve  names  of  Harrison  men  were  announced  in  the  local 
paper.  The  same  paper  called  down  the  North  Star  for  support- 
ing Van  Buren's  corrupt  administration  by  the  publication  of 
twenty-two  democratic  lies  in  a  recent  issue.  Whereupon  the 
Star  let  it  be  known  that  the  Whigs  were  a  very  naughty  set. 
"Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too"  was  the  Whig  slogan.  Tippecanoe 
meetings  were  held  in  the  school  houses  of  the  town.  Proces- 
sions marched  thro  the  streets  with  log  cabins;  which  the  Whigs 
had  taken  up  as  party  insignia ;  (the  Loco-focos  having  sneered 
at  Harrison  as  better  fitted  to  inhabit  an  Ohio  log  cabin  with  a 
barrel  of  hard  cider,  than  the  White  House.)  Women  waving 
handkerchiefs  cheered  these  street  parades,  boys  shouted,  every- 
body seemed  of  the  opinion  that 

"A  change  of  the  Administration 
Will  be  for  the  good  of  the  nation, 
For  it  is  now  in  a  bad  condition. 

So  we'll  put  in  Old  Tippecanoe  ! 

The  best  thing  we  can  do 

Is  to  put  in  Old  Tippecanoe  ; 


EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY  233 

"And  send  the  whole  posse  a  packing, 
Van  Buren  and  all  of  his  backing, 
For  we've  tried  'em  and  found  'em  all  lacking. 

An'  we'll  put  in  Old  Tippecanoe ; 
For  'tis  time  that  this  reign  should  be  ended, 
We  never  shall  see  the  times  mended 

Till  we  put  in  old  Tippecanoe." 

When  November  came  around  they  put  in  old  Tippecanoe  ; 
the  vote  in  this  town  was  for  Harrison  220,  for  Van  Buren  113. 
"And  little  Van,  Van,  was  a  used  up  man." 

On  the  day  of  Harrison's  inauguration,  March  4,  1841,  "the 
Dawn  of  a  New  Political  Era  was  celebrated  at  Hutchinson's 
Hotel,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain,  by  a  very  respectable  collection  of 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  from  this  and  neighboring  towns.  The 
occasion  was  not  one  of  bonfires  and  illumination;  but  of  joyful 
festivity  and  heartfelt  gratitude  for  the  termination  of  past  politi- 
cal usurpation  and  the  prospect  of  the  reign  of  true  republican 
principles." 

Some  strains  of  the  political  talk  current  among  our  towns- 
men of  that  date  survive  in  the  thirty-six  toasts  that  followed  the 
banquet,  a  few  of  which  are  here  given. 

By  Erastus  Fairbanks.  The  Ballot  Box— the  true  Palladium  of  the 
Rights  of  Freemen  ;  a  sure  corrective  of  the  abuses  of  government,  never  to 
be  neglected  by  any  who  deserve  the  name  of  American  Citizens. 

By  Ephraim  Paddock.  The  Late  Administration — it  will  be  remem- 
bered as  long  as  the  Dark  Day,  and  for  the  same  reason. 

By  Dr.  Calvin  Jewett.  Martin  Van  Buren— -by  showing  contempt  for 
the  opinions  of  the  people  in  opposing  the  Sub-Treasury  scheme  he  planted 
the  first  upright  of  his  own  gallows  ;  endorsing  the  standing  army  project  he 
erected  a  second  ;  his  declaration  that  he  would  take  care  of  the  government 
and  let  the  people  take  care  of  themselves  formed  the  top  beam  ;  the  false- 
hoods and  slanders  retailed  and  endorsed  by  him  against  Wm.  Henry 
Harrison,  the  Peoples'  Friend,  formed  the  cord  and  fixed  the  rope  around  his 
own  neck  ;  this  day  public  opinion  expressed  thro  the  ballot  box  has  let  fall 
the  drop,  and  his  political  body  is  now  hanged  on  his  own  gallows. 

By  Charles  S.  Dana.  Hatrisonys  Election — the  genuine  Voice  of  the 
People  above  the  clamor  of  a  faction  by  which  it  has  so  long  been  counter- 
feited. 


234  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

By  Asa  L.  French.  William  Henry  Harrison — weighed  in  the  balance 
of  Public  Opinion  and  never  found  wanting. 

By  A.  G.  Chadwick.  Mrs.  Harrison— in  her  domestic  habits  and  in  the 
spotless  purity  of  her  life  a  worthy  example  for  imitation  by  the  younger 
daughters  of  our  Republic. 

By  Dr.  Morrill  Stevens.  The  American  Females— rightly  educated 
they  are  the  embellishment  of  our  Republic.  May  Venus  and  Minerva  walk 
side  by  side  ;   then  shall  the  Goddess  of  Freedom  ever  spread  her  wings. 

By  Moses  Kittredge.  Henry  Clay— may  the  Whig  Reformation  go  on, 
till  Principles  take  the  place  of  Policy,  Virtue  gain  victory  over  Vice  ;  and 
Clay  be  President  of  these  United  States. 

Nov.  10,  1840.  Who,  half-a-century  ago,  would  have  ventured  to  predict 
that  in  the  year  eighteen-hundred-forty  a  passage  would  be  made  from  Hali- 
fax to  Liverpool  in  nine  and  a  half  days?  Yet  so  it  is,  performed  by  the 
steam  ship  Britannia  which  left  Boston  Oct.  1,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
14th  docked  at  Liverpool! 


XIX 


DEBATES  AND  BOOKS 


"I  guess  we  all  like  to  hear  some  one  who  presents  those  sides  of  a 
thought  different  from  our  own."  Walt  Whitman 


DEBATING  CLUBS — FOP  OR  FOOL — ANTI-SLAVERY  TALK — JEWETT 
MOBBED — LYCEUMS  AND  LECTURES — A  BOOK  STORE— GALIG- 
NANI    BIDS — OLD   TIME    BOOKS — CIRCULATING   LIBRARIES. 


LITERARY   CLUBS   AND   LYCEUMS 

For  more  than  forty  years  literary  or  debating  clubs  and 
lyceums  were  popular  in  the  town  and  provided  mental  drill  and 
entertainment  of  very  substantial  quality.  Manuscripts  read  at 
these  societies  are  still  extant,  belonging,  as  the  coarse  quality  of 
the  paper  indicates,  to  the  period  of  1820  or  thereafter.  Brief 
mention  is  here  made  of  some  of  those  clubs  and  their  doings, 
which  included  unreported  speeches,  essays,  debates,  oratorical 
and  forensic  achievements  of  the  young  men  of  the  period. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Juvenile  Literary  Society  was  organized  Jan. 
31,  1821,  under  a  constitution  of  14  articles  and  18  by-laws,  with 
an  oath  of  loyalty  and  secrecy.  The  members  were  under  thirty 
years  of  age,  meetings  were  held  weekly,  with  debates,  papers 
and  essays.  The  Constitution,  like  the  scribes  on  Moses'  seat, 
laid  heavy  burdens,  too  grievous  to  be  borne  ;  so  many  members 
had  to  be  disciplined  for  failing  to  meet  its  rigid  requirements, 
that  the  Society  may  be  said  to  have  expelled  itself  to  death.      It 


236  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

had  however,  a  vigorous  spirit  and  did  debating  on  questions  like 
the  following  :  Is  it  necessary  that  the  mind  be  exerted  for  its 
existence,  as  it  is  that  perspiration  and  action  of  the  heart  should 
go  on  for  the  existence  of  the  body?  Which  was  the  greater  dis- 
covery navigation  or  printing?  Is  the  endowment  of  native 
genius  greater  in  the  male  or  the  female?  Who  is  best  fitted  to 
represent  us  in  the  Legislature,  the  farmer  or  the  lawyer?  Which 
is  the  greatest  object  of  pity,  the  fop  or  the  fool?  Decided  for  the 
fop. 

The  Bachelor's  Club :  1824.  "I  remember,  as  a  member  of 
this  society  that  we  met  one  time  at  Abel  Rice's  Hotel.  Dr. 
Morrill  Stevens  presided.  We  marched  that  evening  in  Indian 
file  to  the  little  building  used  for  a  meeting  house  ;  each  entered 
with  his  cloak  thrown  over  his  shoulder,  took  off  his  hat  with  the 
right  hand  and  brushed  back  his  hair  with  the  left  hand,  then  filed 
into  our  seats.  George  B.  Mansur,  then  a  student  in  Dartmouth 
College,  gave  the  address,  after  which  we  marched  back:  to  the 
hotel — for  further  entertainment?"  H.  K. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  formed  in  Sep- 
tember 1836.  This  was  two  years  after  the  birth  of  the  Whig 
party,  and  within  a  year  of  the  first  agitation  against  slavery  in 
Congress  ;  some  of  the  earliest  petitions  for  its  abolition  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  were  sent  in  from  Vermont.  At  the  first  anni- 
versary of  this  society  held  in  the  old  Meeting  House  the  follow- 
ing resolution  introduced  by  Ephraim  Jewett  was  passed — "Re- 
solved, that  the  existence  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
is  a  reproach  not  only  to  the  nation  but  to  individuals  ;  therefore, 
President  Van  Buren's  threat  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  we 
will  continue  to  petition  Congress  for  its  abolition,  till  the  petition 
is  granted,  or  all  hope  of  success  is  lost."  Considering  the  differ- 
ence in  opinion  as  to  the  best  method  of  dealing  with  the  slavery 
question,  this  meeting  deprecated  as  ungenerous  and  unchristian 
the  "branding  of  those  who  do  not  agree  with  us  with  the  epithet 
pro-slavery  men." 

Dr.  Hibbard  Jewett,  brother  of  Ephraim,  may  have  been  one 
of  the  originators  of  this  Society.  He  removed  to  Dayton,  Ohio, 
where  he  took  strong  ground  against  slavery.     A  member   of 


DEBATES  AND  BOOKS  237 

Congress  came  to  Dayton  Jan.  23,  1841,  to  speak  on  the  subject. 
Being  refused  admittance  to  any  public  hall,  a  meeting  was  called 
in  Dr.  Jewett's  house.  The  Mayor  and  other  city  officials  were 
present.  As  soon  as  the  meeting  had  dissolved  and  the  police 
were  away,  the  rabble  swept  down  upon  the  house,  smashed  the 
windows  and  gave  out  that  the  importation  of  St.  Johnsbury  ad- 
vanced ideas  was  contrary  to  Dayton  mob-law. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Lyceum  was  in  operation  in  1837  and  for 
several  years  thereafter.  Debates  were  had  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion, on  migration  to  the  West,  on  the  wrongs  of  the  Indian,  on 
the  wearing  of  mourning  apparel,  on  the  doubtful  question  of  a 
liberal  education  for  young  women.  The  Lyceum  meetings  were 
held  in  the  school  house  on  the  Plain. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Acade?ny  Union  Club,  1844,  included  in  its 
membership  young  men  and  women  of  the  village  as  well  as  stu- 
dents. The  Club  met  in  the  Academy ;  there  were  declamations, 
dialogues,  debates,  essays  and  a  literary  paper  entitled  The 
Oracle.  This  Club  accumulated  a  library  of  perhaps  a  hundred 
volumes,  many  of  the  books  being  contributed  by  citizens ;  some 
of  them  are  still  preserved  at  the  Athenaeum. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Literary  Institute,  1850,  was  composed  of 
citizens  with  a  principal  design  of  providing  courses  of  lectures 
for  public  entertainment.  In  this  the  Institute  was  very  success- 
ful, and  for  several  years  courses  of  a  high  order  of  merit  were 
maintained.  There  were  lectures  on  history,  literature,  travel, 
invention,  applied  science  and  kindred  topics,  that  filled  the  meet- 
ing house  with  interested  listeners.  In  1851  the  course  was 
fourteen  lectures ;  in  1854  there  was  a  course  of  eleven  lectures  ; 
total  expense  $312.36.  Some  years  later  the  work  of  this  Insti- 
tute was  taken  up  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  whose  annual  Lecture 
Course,  maintained  for  forty  years,  became  justly  famous. 

The  Youths'  Institute  of  St.  Johnsbury  was  organized  March  9, 
1852,  under  supervision  of  Erastus  Fairbanks.  It  started  with  a 
membership  of  ninety  lads  of  an  average  age  of  fifteen  years. 
The  object  as  indicated  in  the  constitution  was  improvement  in 
mind,  in  character,  and  in  knowledge  of  common  things,  such  as 


238  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

nature,  useful  arts,  invention,  current  history.  Some  topics  dis- 
cussed were  air,  rain,  sugar,  coal  mining,  Benj.  Franklin, 
Congress.  This  Institute  did  much  for  its  members  during  the 
brief  period  of  its  existence.  The  record  of  roll  call  shows  that 
nearly  all  the  ninety  members  were  generally  present. 

The  Firemen's  Debating  Club,  Jan.  1857,  used  to  meet  weekly, 
at  the  engine  rooms  of  Torrent  No.  1.  Public  questions  were 
warmly  discussed,  and  with  such  debaters  as  Charles  Ramsey,  L. 
O.  Stevens,  Jonathan  Lawrence  and  others,  a  lively  interest  was 
maintained. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Debating  Club  was  holding  its  sessions 
during  the  year  1857,  but  no  details  of  its  doings  are  found. 

The  Young Men 's  Debating  Club  oi 'the  Center  Village  was  started 
in  1858.  In  February  1860  this  Club  decided  that  the  subject 
of  slavery  had  been  too  long  mixed  up  with  politics,  therefore  it 
is  now  the  duty  of  citizens  to  discountenance  any  party  based  on 
the  slavery  question. 

The  Excelsior  Club.  One  of  the  brightest  of  literary  Socie- 
ties was  The  Excelsior,  which  met  in  the  parlors  of  the  members 
during  the  fifties.  It  was  devoted  to  careful  studies  in  English 
literature,  and  drew  out  papers  of  exceptional  merit  and  scope 
from  its  gifted  writers ;  among  whom  were  Alex  G.  Hawes,  Con- 
stans  L.  Goodell,  George  D.  Rand,  Misses  Calista  Downing,  Lucy 
Mills,  Sarah  Fairbanks,  Martha  J.  Crossman  and  others. 

.     BOOKS   AND   LIBRARIES 

"And  I  thought — how  natural  it  was  in  Charles  Lamb  to  give  a  kiss  to 
an  old  book,  as  I  once  saw  him  do  to  a  copy  of  Chapman's  Homer." 

Leigh  Hunt 

The  first  general  collection  of  books  in  the  town  that  might 
be  called  a  library  was  that  of  Judge  Paddock.  It  included,  be- 
sides the  standard  law  books,  works  on  literature  and  history.  A 
voluminous  freader,  with  an  intelligent  passion  for  books  was 
Joseph  P.  Fairbanks,  who  as  a  young  man  began  acquiring  the 
best  that  could  be  had,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  in    1855  had 


BOOKS  AND  LIBRARIES 


239 


the  most  valuable  library  in  the  town.  While  postmaster,  1829- 
1832,  he  opened  the  first  bookstore  on  the  Plain.  To  show  what 
books  were  offered  at  that  date  the  following  titles  are  taken 
from  his  announcement. 


Robertson's  History  of  America 

Captain  Cook's  Voyages 

Heren's  Politics  of  Greece 

Journal  around  Hawaii 

Chalmers'  Discourses 

Opie  on  Lying 

Charlotte's  Daughter 

Waverly,  Scott 

Rob  Roy,  Scott 

Red  Gauntlet 

Symzonia 

Hemans  Poems 

Junius'  Letters 

Life  of  William  Penn 

Beckwith's  Sermons 

Mysteries  of  Udolpho 

Friend  of  Health 

Life  in  India 


Chastelleux's  Travels 
Essays  on  Peace  and  War 
Tales  of  the  Emerald  Isle 
The  American  Chesterfield 
Thaddeus  of  Warsaw 
Subaltern's  Log  Book 
The  Pioneers,  Cooper 
The  Prairie,  Cooper 
Dryden's  Virgil 
The  Odyssey  of  Homer 
Montgomery's  Poems 
Lalla  Rookh 
Bunyan's  Works 
Memoir  Henry  Martyn 
Paley's  Philosophy 
Don  Quixote 
Scottish  Chiefs 
Traits  of  the  Aborigines 


This  list  probably  indicates  in  part  a  desire  to  put  good  read- 
ing before  the  public  rather  than  a  response  to  popular  demand. 
There  are  no  data  indicating  the  appetite  of  the  people  for  these 
books,  but  quaint  little  copies  of  Paley's  Philosophy  and  Junius' 
Letters,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  writer,  look  as  if  they 
might  be  unsold  survivors  of  the  book  store  of  1829. 

A  letter  from  Galignani  of  Paris,  Jan.  16,  1832,  addressed  to 
"J.  P.  Fairbanks  Bookseller,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain"  indicates  some 
range  of  correspondence  by  the  local  bookseller.  The  Paris  pub- 
lishers say  "we  have  no  doubt  that  any  trial  you  may  make  of  our 
publications  will  be  productive  of  great  profit ;  our  books  being 
of  authors  of  the  first  merit,  and  gotten  up  in  a  style  which  we 
flatter  ourselves  even  surpasses  in  beauty  those  of  London.  Our 
workmen  are  English  and  our  correctors  persons  of  learning  and 
talent.  We  make  you  allowance  of  25  and  33  per  cent  on  list 
prices,  bills  payable  in  France  or  England." 

Coming  forward  seventeen  years  we  find  books  of  a  different 
type  on  the  shelves  of  the  principal  store  in  the  Village,  Ephraim 


240  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Jewett's.     Of  twenty-eight  books  advertised  one-half  were  of  the 
mild  sentimental  sort  indicated  by  such  titles   as 

The  Remember  Me  Poetry  of  Love  Young  Wife's  Book 

Floral  Biography  Token  of  Affection  Simple  Flower 

Domestic  Life  Autumn  Flowers  The  Royal  Sisters 

The  Cypress  Wreath  Keepsake  Stories  Sentiment  of  Flowers 

For  nearly  twenty  years  annuals  of  compiled  poetry  or  prose 
under  titles  similar  to  the  above  would  be  found  in  most  families 
who  wanted  what  was  called  good  reading.  Then  they  disappeared 
altogether. 

Some  books  of  a  hundred  years  ago  that  were  in  our  town 
have  come  to  the  Athenaeum,  where  they  are  kept  as  old  survivors 
that  served  their  generation  well  and  are  now  entitled  to  a  com- 
fortable berth. 

Select  Sermons,  1799 — ''presented  to  the  First  Church  of  St. 
Johnsbury  in  1814,  by  the  Missionary  Society  of  Hampshire 
County,  Mass."  From  this  book  sermons  were  read  by  laymen 
in  the  old  Meeting  House  during  the  years  when  there  was  no 
minister. 

Isaac  Watts,  Psalms  of  David,  1799.  This  was  the  book  that 
our  forefathers  sang  from  before  the  day  of  church  singing  books. 
With  this  is  also  a  copy  of  the  earlier  version  of  Tate  and  Brady. 

Wilbur's  Biblical  Catechism,  1812.  Some  years  before  the 
arrival  of  Sunday  Schools  this  little  primer  was  a  text  book  for 
Bible  study  ;  this  copy  belonged  to  Phebe  Jones,  and  she  knew  it 
from  cover  to  cover  Bible  questions,  1828,  bears  the  signature 
of  Cora  Bishop ;  this  was  the  first  regular  Sunday  School  lesson 
book. 

Bingham's  American  Preceptor,  1813,  was  a  book  of  Reading 
Lessons  ;  with  it,  is  Lindley  Murray's  English  Reader,  a  celebrated 
book  in  its  day  ;  the  name  of  the  owner  has  been  cut  from  the  fly  leaf, 
but  there  is  reason  to  think  that  John  H.  Paddock  used  to  have  to 
toe  the  mark  with  it.  Another  copy  of  this  Reader  belonged  to  a 
boy,  Alvin  Flint  by  name  ;  in  the  summer  of  1832  he  raised 
chickens  to  pay  for  it,  then  bought  soft  leather  enough  to  cover 
it ;  this  he  paid  for  with  hogs'  bristles  combed  out  and  tied  in 
bunches  to  be  used  for  shoemaker's  wax  ends. 


BOOKS  AND  LIBRARIES  241 

History  of  New  England  for  Children  and  Youth,  by  Lam- 
bert Lilly,  Schoolmaster.  This  was  the  property  of  Horace 
Fairbanks  while  he  was  yet  a  lad  under  schoolmasters ;  learning 
something  about  the  value  of  books,  in  unconscious  training  for 
becoming  the  founder  of  a  Public  Library. 

Robertson's  History  of  America,  1788.  These  old  volumes, 
standard  in  their  time,  carry  the  autograph  in  bold  hand  of  E. 
Sanger ;  whether  Eleazer  Sanger  of  1790,  or  his  son  Ezra  Sanger, 
is  not  clear ;  the  next  owner  was  Hezekiab  Martin. 

Adam.  Latin  Grammar  and  Ainsworth's  Lexicon,  1808 — J. 
P.  Fairbanks— Bought  of  R.  H.  Deming,  Postmaster  1823-1827, 
for  $5.50. 

Noah  Webster's  Spelling  Book,  1829,  the  famous  elementary 
classic,  which  certifies  that  "a  cat  can  eat  a  rat,"  and  out  of 
which  more  than  80,000,000  American  boys  and  girls  learned  how 
to  joint  the  alphabet  in  to  words  small  and  great — from  p-i-g  to 
met-a-phys-ics,  from  ba-ker  to  va-le-tu-de-na-ri-an-ism  and  then  to 
in-com-pre-hen-si-bil-i-ty. 

The  Vermont  Repository,  Rutland,  1795. 

Gazetteer  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  Montpelier,  1824 ;  the 
property  of  John  and  Luther  Clark.  In  this  book  we  learn  that 
St.  Johnsbury  has  "  a  decent  meetinghouse  near  the  center  of  the 
township." 

CIRCULATING    LIBRARIES 

The  Ide  Library.  Hiram  Hall  Ide  of  the  Center  Village  who 
died  in  1839,  had  a  private  library  which  he  put  in  to  general  cir- 
culation. The  books  were  numbered  and  catalogued  in  an  old 
account  book,  with  names  of  the  borrowers.  At  that  time  he 
was  proprietor  of  the  Center  Village  grist  mill,  saw  mill  and 
starch  factory ;  this  brought  him  in  constant  contact  with  the 
farmers  ;  when  these  men  came  to  the  mills  he  would  put  books  in 
their  hands  to  carry  back  to  their  homes.  Most  of  these  books 
and  the  old  catalogue  were  subsequently  destroyed  by  fire. 

Mr.  Ide  distributed  material  as  well  as  intellectual  light  in  his 
day.  It  was  his  custom  to  put  a  light  in  his  front  window  on 
dark  evenings   for  the  benefit  of    people  returning  from  church 


242  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

meetings.  At  that  date  there  were  strained  relations  between  the 
churches,  but  the  Ide  light  was  set  in  place  for  the  Universalists 
as  regularly  as  for  the  established  order. 

The  Anti-Slavery  Library.  The  abolitionist  propaganda  was 
active  during  the  thirties,  and  an  Anti-Slavery  Circulating  Library 
was  established  in  the  town.  No  definite  information  can  be  had 
about  it ;  the  books  perhaps  were  kept  in  the  house  of  Dr.  Morrill 
Stevens. 

Library  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy  Union  Club — 1844. 
This  apparently  was  not  restricted  to  the  use  of  the  school.  There 
was  quite  a  collection  of  miscellaneous  books  ;  many  of  which 
are  still  preserved,  some  at  the  Academy,  some  at  the  Athenaeum. 
They  are  bound  in  leather,  furnished  with  a  printed  book  plate, 
on  which  is  entered  the  number,  the  price  if  a  purchased  book, 
or  the  name  of  the  donor.  It  is  interesting  to  read  on  the  fly 
leaves  of  these  books  the  autographs  of  their  former  owners,  in- 
cluding many  well  known  citizens. 

The  Mechanics  Library.  The  proprietors  of  the  scale  works 
established  this  library  July  7,  1855,  with  800  volumes.  These 
formed  a  superior  collection  of  well  chosen  books  in  good  bind- 
ings, and  they  were  in  constant  circulation  among  the  factory 
men  for  a  good  many  years. 

The  Passumpsic  Railroad  Library  Association  was  formed  in 
February  1856,  with  631  volumes  for  the  use  of  the  railroad  men 
and  their  families. 

The  Firemans  Library  Association,  February  1860,  had  an  inter- 
esting library  which  was  kept  at  first  in  Union  Hall,  afterward  at 
the  Engine  room  of  Deluge  Co. — 404  volumes. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  Agricultural  Library  Association,  organized 
February  4,  1864,  had  300  volumes  on  Agriculture   and  kindred 
arts,  E.  A.  Parks,  Pres;  E.  Jewett,  Treas. 

7 he  Farmers  and  Mechanics  Library  of  about  500  volumes, 
200  of  which  were  on  history  and  literature,  was  started  in  1864 
and  held  by  stockholders. 


BOOKS  AND  LIBRARIES  243 

In  1880  the  Young  Mens  Catholic  Library  Association  was 
formed  with  30  members.  There  were  450  volumes  and  periodi- 
cals, which  within  two  years  had  increased  to  about  800. 

7 he  Ladies  Library  Association,  1855-1872,  had  an  interesting 
history.  In  1853  The  Ladies  Reading  Society  was  formed  with 
23  members,  in  the  house  of  Judge  Paddock.  There  was  also 
The  Society  for  Literary  Inquiry.  These  two  had  in  1855  books 
valued  at  $13.73  and  fifty-five  cents  in  money.  It  was  voted  to 
combine  with  this  capital ;  and  on  May  31,  1855,  The  Ladies  Li- 
brary Association  was  organized,  its  constitution  fixing  admission 
at  half  a  dollar  and  an  annual  fee  of  the  same  amount.  Begin- 
ning with  44  members  the  Association  attained  a  maximum 
membership  of  142,  and  for  nearly  seventeen  years  contributed 
much  to  the  literary  life  of  the  village.  At  the  semi-annual  meet- 
ings valuable  papers  were  presented  and  the  Blue  Bag  opened  up 
its  store  of  anonymous  contributions.  Several  lecture  courses 
for  the  public  were  provided  ;  in  one  of  these  Dr.  Chapin  of  New 
York  gave  his  famous  lecture  entitled,  The  Roll  of  Honor ;  most 
of  the  lecturers  however  were  resident  here. 

In  January  1872,  the  Athenaeum  having  just  been  opened, 
this  Association  disbanded.  There  were  then  on  its  shelves 
about  400  volumes  ;  these  were  by  vote  donated,  one  half  to 
Barnet  and  one  half  to  Burke,  as  nucleus  for  similar  libraries  in 
those  towns. 


XX 


EDUCATIONAL 


"Education  consists  in  the  fitting  of  the  individual  for  life  in  society  on 
the  basis  of  morality  and  reason."  Milton's  Tractate. 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  STAGE  COACH — WOODCHUCK  AND  A  LETTER — 
A  MAN  WHO  WAS  REAL  ESTATE — STARTING  AN  ACADEMY — A 
DORIC  STRUCTURE— INSIDE  VIEW— WIDENING  HORIZONS — 
ACADEMIC      BUILDINGS — FIFTY     YEARS — QUELPH     TO     MAGO — 

GRADED     SCHOOLS — CONSOLIDATION — A     HIGH      SCHOOL THE 

TOWN  SYSTEM — VACATION  SCHOOLS — SCHOOL  NOTES. 


THE    ST.   JOHNSBURY    ACADEMY 


"How  dear  is  the  name  of  the  academy;  adorned  with  Grecian  art, 
beautiful  with  its  atmosphere  of  repose  and  study;  immortal  for  its  teach- 
ings ;  its  impress  felt  on  the  intellectual  life  of  all  generations  since  Plato  and 
Zenocrates."  University  Magazine. 

One  evening  in  the  summer  of  1842,  the  four-horse  stage 
from  Concord  was  coming  up  the  long  hill  at  the  foot  of  the 
street.  It  was  enough  at  that  time  to  say  "the  street,"  inasmuch 
as  there  was  only  one.  Under  the  stage  driver's  box  was  the 
evening  mail  which  had  left  Boston  the  day  before — brought  by 
the  new  railroad  as  far  as  Concord,  and  from  that  terminus  staged 
across  to  Haverhill  and  all  points  north. 

As  the  stage  began  rolling  across  the  Plain,  a  lad  living  at 
the   south   end   was  let  loose  to  keep  pace  with  it  as  far  as  the 


EDUCATIONAL  245 

post  office  and  get  the  evening  mail.  Dashing  up  the  street  he 
was  presently  at  the  steep  pitch  just  above  the  grave  yard,  about 
where  one  would  now  turn  down  Eastern  Avenue.  It  happened 
that  at  this  point  two  boys  were  making  their  way  up  thro  the 
tangle  of  plum  trees  and  lilacs — one  having  a  steel  trap  and  the 
other  a  woodchuck  which  they  had  just  brought  up  over  the  long 
pasture  slope  from  the  meadow.  t  The  stump  under  which  they 
had  caught  their  game  is  probably  mouldering  somewhere  under 
the  concrete  of  Railroad  Street.  The  field  mice  and  marmots  of 
that  wild  tract  had,  as  I  distinctly  remember,  the  choice  of  several 
hundred  charred  stumps  and  logs  to  burrow  under ;  and  when, 
somewhile  later,  pupils  of  the  Academy  were  on  the  platform  de- 
claiming of  a  place  where  "the  rank  thistle  nodded  in  the  wind 
and  the  wild  fox  dug  his  hole  unscared,"  we  could  appropriately 
direct  our  gesture  toward  the  spot  now  covered  by  the  blocks  of 
the  Avenue  House  or  Merchants  Bank. 

It  must  not  however  be  supposed  that  at  that  date  St.  Johns- 
bury  Plain  was  a  wilderness.  Besides  the  twenty-nine  houses 
more  or  less,  in  which  people  lived,  there  were  some  important 
institutions,  such  as  a  meeting  house,  printing  office,  drug  shop, 
a  district  school  house,  hotel,  and  a  post  office  quartered  in  Moses 
Kittredge's  old  yellow  store. 

To  this  rendezvous  that  evening  three  boys  came  instead  of 
one,  and  if  the  other  two  got  no  mail  to  brag  about,  they  made 
such  demonstrations  of  what  they  had  in  hand  already,  that  the 
packet  of  mail  carried  down  to  the  south  end  seemed  an  inconsid- 
erable trophy.  But  time  holds  in  store  its  sweet  revenges. 
What  spoils  of  a  trapper,  tho  brandished  in  the  hand  of  a  future 
judge  of  the  supreme  bench  of  the  city  of  New  York,  George  P. 
Andrews,  would  have  survived  in  story  all  these  years,  except 
for  a  thing  of  consequence  in  that  evening's  bunch  of  mail?  For, 
on  its  delivery  to  my  father's  hand,  a  letter  post  marked  New 
Ipswich,  was  eagerly  taken  up — it  was  a  square  sheet  folded  ac- 
cording to  the  good  form  of  that  day,  red-wafered,  marked 
"paid,  eighteen  and  three-fourths  cents  ;  "  for  this  was  before 
the  cheap  postage  era,  prior  to  the  use  of  envelopes,  and  five 
years  before  such  a  device  as  a  postage  stamp  was  brought  out  in 


246  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

America.  The  letter  being  opened  announcement  was  made  with 
emphasis  of  satisfaction — "Mr.  Colby  has  decided  to  come!"  This 
was  the  man  who  had  been  invited  to  come  and  take  charge  of 
the  new  school  that  would  soon  be  known  as  the  St.  Johnsbury 
Academy  ;  founded  by  the  Fairbanks  Brothers  to  be  a  school  of 
good  learning  and  of  wholesome  ideals. 

Just  then  the  outlook  was  not  altogether  encouraging.  A 
financial  stringency  was  on.  Doubts  arose  as  to  patronage.  Some 
twelve  or  fifteen  pupils  only  could  be  counted  on.  During  the  en- 
forced delay  other  teachers  well  recommended  were  ready  for  the 
principalship  at  a  $500  salary.  The  projectors  however,  feeling 
the  importance  of  a  strong  personality  in  their  first  Principal,  had 
offered  Mr.  Colby  $700 ;  and  he  in  turn,  impressed  with  the  moral 
earnestness  of  the  men  who  were  calling  him,  had  mailed  his  ac- 
ceptance in  the  letter  above  referred  to. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  1842,  a  large-framed,  grave-faced  farmer's 
son,  mature  in  mind  and  in  years,  of  whom  a  shrewd  observer  of 
the  time  remarked,  "That  man  is  real  estate,"  got  into  the  old 
farm  wagon  in  Derry,  N.  H.,  and  rode  to  meet  the  nearest  stage 
that  would  take  him  to  St.  Johnsbury,  a  place  that  nobody  knew 
much  about  except  that  it  was  somewhere  up  in  Vermont.  A 
few  days  later  he  went  into  a  small  house  fixed  over  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  there  opened  "a  school  for  instruction  in  the  higher 
branches,"  the  first  session  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy,  over 
which  for  three  and  twenty  years  he  was  to  preside ;  upon  which 
he  impressed  a  dignity,  rank  and  character  that  soon  commanded 
respect  and  wide  recognition. 

In  the  summer  of  1843  the  first  Academy  building  was 
erected  ;  a  graceful  structure  which  introduced  a  new  and  classic 
type  amongst  the  cottages  around  it.  Its  low  roof  of  shapely 
slope,  its  front  adorned  with  Doric  pillars  suggested  to  young 
eyes  a  little  Greek  temple  crowning  the  swell  of  land  with  its 
quiet  dignity.  Access  was  had  to  the  tightly  fenced  enclosure  by 
twisting  one's  self  thro  the  clump  of  rounded  posts  at  the  front ; 
on  the  south  side  was  a  space  for  the  feminine  recreations  of 
promenading  or  playing  tag ;    on  the  north,  the  whole  spacious 


EDUCATIONAL  247 

tract  where  the  South  Church  now  is,  was  the  boys'  arena  for 
heroic  games  of  pull-away,  snap-the-whip  and  three-year-old  cat. 

Inside  the  building  one  is  aware  of  a  well  defined  atmosphere 
of  order  and  attention.  The  master  is  in  the  high  chair,  behind 
which  is  seen  on  the  east  wall  the  lettering  :  "Order  is  Heaven's 
first  Law."  After  devotions  and  a  few  quiet  words  about  self- 
respect  and  truthfulness,  the  classes  are  called  off.  Mental  Philos- 
ophy to  the  east  room,  Comstock's  Chemistry  to  the  basement, 
Virgil  or  Cicero  to  the  high  rear  platform  between  the  west  ves- 
tibules. On  this  platform,  over-looking  all  from  behind,  the 
master  holds  each  one  in  his  class  to  the  point,  and  each  pupil  in 
the  school  to  his  eye  ;  the  occasional  tap,  tap  of  his  pencil  re- 
minds a  thoughtless  pupil  that  that  grey  eye  is  upon  him,  and 
maybe  there  will  be  a  silent  tour  some  little  way  around  and  the 
characteristic  mandate  of  a  long  fore-finger  enforcing  attention. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Academy  came  to  be  cherished 
with  pride  and  honor  in  the  town  ;  its  wholesome  influence  was 
impressed  on  the  young  life  of  the  community ;  it  was  never 
much  advertised  but  its  fame  went  abroad  and  pupils  came  to  it 
from  distant  places.  "It  was  there,"  said  a  Philadelphia  banker, 
"that  I  acquired  a  fondness  for  study  which  was  a  solace  and 
safeguard  during  my  youth,  and  better  still,  those  examples  and 
refining  influences  which  made  my  stay  at  St.  Johnsbury  the 
most  memorable  and  significant  period  of  my  life."  The  like  ex- 
perience was  shared  by  hundreds  of  others.  The  enrolment  for  the 
first  year  was  61,  for  the  second  164,  for  the  fifth  year  257  ;  about 
2000  pupils  in  all  were  under  the  administration  of  Principal 
Colby.  On  August  13,  1886,  he  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four,  uni- 
versally honored  and  lamented.  The  tall  granite  shaft  that  marks 
his  resting  place  at  Mount  Pleasant  was  erected  by  the  Trustees 
and  his  former  pupils  at  an  expense  of  $550. 

Mr.  Colby's  immediate  successor  was  Henry  C.  Ide,  one  of 
his  own  pupils,  a  recent  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  United 
States  Minister  to  Spain  under  President  Taft.  He  took  the 
position  for  two  years  only ;  Elmer  E.  Phillips  and  Chas.  H. 
Chandler  each  held  it  a  brief  period.  With  the  coming  of  Rev. 
Homer  T.  Fuller  in  1871,    the   new   era   was   inaugurated.     The 


248  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

confidence  which  his  superior  character  and  accomplishments  in- 
spired in  the  Trustees  led  up  to  the  erection  of  the  new  brick 
buildings,  the  securing  of  a  generous  endowment,  enlargement  of 
the  equipment  and  curriculum,  and  a  steady  growth  in  efficiency 
and  patronage.  During  his  administration  of  ten  years  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  rose  to  350  and  more,  representing  many  different 
states  and  exceptional  grades  of  scholarship  and  character. 

In  1882  Mr.  Fuller  accepted  a  call  to  the  Worcester  Polytecnic 
and  later  to  the  presidency  of  Drury  College.  His  first  assistant, 
Charles  E.  Putney,  took  the  helm  and  shaped  the  course  of  the 
school  for  the  next  fifteen  years  with  skill  and  efficiency.  From 
1896  to  1906,  David  Y.  Comstock  was  in  command.  His  policy 
was  broad  and  energetic  ;  during  this  period  the  charter  deeds 
were  forfeited  and  made  more  liberal,  the  Alumni  Committee  was 
established  to  co-operate  with  the  Trustees,  the  "Business  Col- 
lege" on  Railroad  street  was  annexed,  the  Girls  Cottage  was  ac- 
quired by  gift,  the  new  endowment  was  secured ;  a  strong  forward 
impetus  resulted.  The  next  Principal  for  two  years  was  C.  P. 
Howland,  and  after  him  Martin  G.  Benedict,  the  present  incum- 
bent. 

The  New  Academy,  which  with  its  attendant  building,  South 
Hall,  was  two  years  in  process  of  construction  was  dedicated  Oct. 
31,  1872.  Twelve  hundred  people  were  in  the  hall.  Statements 
were  made  by  Principal  Fuller  and  reminiscences  of  past  years  by 
Edward  T.  Fairbanks  ;  the  rank  and  opportunity  of  the  Academy 
in  the  educational  system  of  the  future  was  set  forth  in  finished 
and  forceful  style  by  President  Buckham  of  the  University  of 
Vermont. 

The  semi-centennial  of  the  Academy  was  observed  in  June 
1892,  at  Music  Hall.  Wendell  P.  Stafford  Esq.,  President  of  the 
Alumni  Association,  presided.  There  were  historical  papers  by 
Edward  T.  Fairbanks  and  Mrs.  Walter  P.  Smith ;  the  address  of 
the  day  by  Charles  A.  Prouty  Esq.,  music,  songs  and  odes,  and  a 
banquet  at  the  old  skating  rink  with  abundant  and  varied  post 
prandial  felicities.  Charles  E.  Putney  was  Principal  at  this  time. 
Recollections  of  non-resident  graduates  voiced  in  many  letters 
were  all  of  one  strain  : — 


EDUCATIONAL  249 

W.  I  hope  St.  Johnsbury,  as  well  as  we  who  live  far  away  from  that 
beautiful  spot,  appreciates  what  was  done  by  the  founders  of  the  Academy, 
who,  under  God,  builded  better  than  they  knew. 

H.  My  recollections  of  the  Academy  are  most  distinct  and  pleasant. 
Especially  of  that  man  so  small  in  his  own  esteem,  so  great  in  the  confidence 
of  all,  who  gave  to  the  Academy  its  character,  fulfilling  the  hopes  of  its 
founders,  whose  name  will  always  be  conspicuous  in  its  history. 

J.  One  aim  always  governed  our  instructors  in  that  school,  viz.,  to 
train  up  Christian  men  and  women,  symmetrical  in  character,  having  high 
purpose,  pure  thoughts  and  true  culture  of  soul.  And  so,  go  where  you 
will,  you  find  that  most  who  got  their  training  at  that  Academy  have  been" 
true  to  the  principles  there  taught  and  exemplified. 

P.  My  mind  is  busy  with  memories  of  the  dear  old  Academy.  How  ma- 
jestic those  columns  above  the  front  used  to  look  to  us  ;  how  well  I  remember 
the  faces  of  those  who  used  to  gather  on  that  broad  piazza.  To  me,  and  I 
am  sure  to  you,  the  central  figure  round  which  all  else  revolved  was  that 
self-poised,  princely  man,  and  rarely  gifted  teacher,  of  whom  I  stood  in  awe 
at  first,  then  loved  and  honored  as  I  have  few  men  ever— Principal  Colby. 

During  the  first  forty  years,  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  and  Co.  as 
a  private  firm  or  as  individuals  met  all  expenses  incurred  for  real 
estate,  buildings,  equipment  and  annual  arrears.  In  1867  these 
obligations  were  assumed  by  Mr.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  who  also 
erected  the  new  brick  buildings  which  cost  $110,000.  In  1881,  a 
permanent  endowment  was  established,  mostly  from  the  same 
original  sources,  of  $100,000.  It  was  not  many  years  before  depre- 
ciation of  values,  failure  of  returns  and  the  increasing  cost  of  main- 
taining such  a  school  resulted  in  deficits  which  were  annually  made 
up  by  the  Trustees  and  some  friends  ;  until  in  1904  the  Alumni  and 
others  interested  replenished  the  endowment  with  $666,666.66. 
In  1912  some  citizens  contributed  $6000  for  the  establishment  of 
an  industrial  department  which  went  into  operation  the  following 
year.  The  tuition  rate  of  $46  a  year  covers  less  than  one  third 
the  cost  of  education  per  pupil,  which  approximates  $76  a  year. 

THE    NEW   ACADEMY  OF   1873 

Letter  ir.om  Quelph  to  Mago — his  seatmate  in  1846: 
Dear  mago  : — 

I've  been  to  visit  the  old  Academy,  and  I  find  it  all  new  ; 
nothing  as   it  was  in  the  days  when  you  and  I  marched  up  to 


250  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

school  in  our  brass-buttoned  jackets.  The  old  white  Academy  of 
Doric  pillars  and  big  round  chimney  has  disappeared.  The  clump 
of  gate  posts  we  used  to  wriggle  in  and  out  of  is  pulled  up  by  the 
roots.  The  two  tamaracks,  down  one  of  which  you  remember  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  making  a  public  descent  one  recess,  when  it 
was  said  unto  me,  "You  may  come  down,"  are  both  down  them- 
selves. In  the  midst  of  our  old  play-ground,  where  you  and  John 
were  leaping  frog  that  May  morning  when  the  ground  was  slip- 
pery, as  you  had  occasion  to  remember,  is  a  big  church,  from  the 
tower  of  which  the  village  clock  gives  out  the  time  of  day.  The 
old  tavern  stand  is  converted  into  a  Club  House  and  moved  back 
to  make  room  for  South  Hall  with  its  tenements  and  dormitories, 
and  between  that  and  the  Church  is  the  imposing  front  of  the  New 
Academy — brick,  on  high  granite  basement,  and  topped  with  a 
bevy  of  towers  and  pinnacles.  As  I  went  up  the  granite  steps 
Principal  Fuller  took  my  hand  with  immense  cordiality  and  en- 
thusiasm, ushered  me  into  his  office,  one  of  the  modern  requisites, 
though  I  saw  nothing  of  a  ferule  therein,  and  thence  into  No.  2, 
the  Senior  class  room.  This  is  a  fine  room,  well  lighted,  decorat- 
ed with  Kiepert's  maps  and  diagrams,  and  going  to  have  a  min- 
eralogical  cabinet  sometime.  But  what  do  you  think,  Mago,  of 
this  notion  of  luxurious  arm-chairs  as  a  means  of  training  boys  to 
endure  hardness?  It  seemed  a  little  odd  to  me  when  I  thought  of 
the  hard  birch  benches  you  and  I  grew  up  on. 

And  this  reminds  me  of  a  pleasant  little  surprise  that  seems 
to  have  been  arranged  for  the  pupils  of  long  ago,  who  may  come 
back  to  re-visit  their  old  mother.  For  when  you  step  into  the 
large  east  room  up  stairs,  there  you  are  amongst  those  same  ven- 
erable seats  just  as  we  had  them  in  1846,  only  turned  around  to 
face  the  other  way,  and  I  would  not  be  surprised  to  see  you  peer- 
ing around  the  edge  of  one  of  them  as  if  expecting  to  find  trace 
of  certain  artistic  wood-carving  that  you  were  aware  of  once. 

For  the  old  Academy,  as  you  must  know,  has  been  literally 
swallowed  up  some  fifteen  feet  above  its  original  level  by  the  new 
brick  edifice,  and  lies  therein  as  serenely  as  Jonah  in  a  whale.  So 
in  the  going  up,  the  red  birch  benches  went  to,  and  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  sitting  down  in  my  old  place,  only  wishing  you  were 
here  to  occupy  the  other  half. 


EDUCATIONAL  251 

Another  thing  I  enjoyed  was  down  in  the  philosophical 
chamber.  This  apartment  is  nicely  planned  with  seats  on  a  grade, 
and  across  half  the  west  side,  glass  doors,  behind  which  is  housed 
the  apparatus,  quite  a  good  deal  of  it  being  the  same  that  aston- 
ished our  boyish  eyes  years  ago.  The  great  plate  of  the  electrical 
machine  still  continues  to  go  around  giving  off  its  fluid,  though  I 
am  not  sure  that  they  call  it  "fluid"  nowadays  ;  and  I  laughed  out- 
right to  see  the  old  insulating  stool,  remembering  how  Jesse 
stood  on  it  ready  to  burst  with  mingled  laughter  and  electricity 
while  we  measured  the  distances  of  his  white  hairs,  each  particu- 
lar hair  standing  on  end.  Then,  too,  the  sight  of  the  air  pump  re- 
called to  me  the  happy  fate  of  the  mouse  I  caught  in  the  school- 
room, and  which  for  a  scientific  study  was  put  under  the  pneu- 
matic bell  jar.  I  never  shall  forget  the  tender  regard  that  Prof. 
Colby  had  for  that  poor  mouse,  on  which  he  was  experimenting  a 
little  for  our  entertainment  ;  he  just  pumped  air  enough  out  to 
show  that  the  mouse  was  uncomfortable,  then  lifted  the  bell  jar 
and  let  him  bounce  off. 

Adjoining  the  apparatus  room  is  the  laboratory.  By  simply 
throwing  back  the  doors,  the  class  has  everything  in  view,  run- 
ning water,  gas,  implements,  chemicals,  pneumatic  trough,  and 
all.  I  don't  know  why  it  should  have  come  into  my  mind,  but  a 
private  door  from  the  desk  into  the  laboratory,  which  I  suppose  is 
for  the  operator,  together  with  the  mysteries  that  may  be  suppos- 
ed to  be  performed  behind  the  closed  doors,  suggested  to  me  on 
the  spot  that  part  of  the  Aedes  Isidis  at  Pompeii  where  a  side 
door  gave  secret  entrance  for  Calenus  the  priest  into  the  Adytum. 
On  the  walls  of  the  Adytum  also,  as  here,  were  symbols  of  the 
mysteries  wrought  therein,  and  even  the  feature  of  running  water 
was  not  wanting,  for  there  you  know  went  Fontana's  aqueduct. 
If  there  was  only  a  figure  here  corresponding  to  that  of  Harpo- 
crates  with  his  finger  on  his  lip  enjoining  silence,  I  think  we  could 
make  a  very  tolerable  Isaeon  of  this  laboratory. 

You  know  going  up  to  our  rooms  in  college  we  used  to  sing  : 

"Away  from  the  world  and  its  toils  and  its  cares, 
I've  a  snug  little  kingdom  up  four  pair  of  stairs." 


252  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Well,  up  the  long  flights  of  the  New  Academy  stairs  I 
mounted,  and  instead  of  a  snuggery,  a  spacious  hall  to  seat  the 
multitude  ;  windows  all  around,  open  timber  work  overhead,  and 
broad  stage  across  the  west  end,  above  which  hangs  a  life  size 
portrait  of  Sir  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  the  donor  of  this  building, 
painted  by  Mr.  Matthew  Wilson  of  New  York.  This  is  the  exhi- 
bition hall,  and  I  can  tell  you,  Mago,  it  will  take  more  voice  to  fill 
it  than  you  expended  one  Saturday  forenoon  when  you  told  us 
something  about  the  condition  of  the  snow 

"On  Linden  when  the  sun  was  low." 

While  I  was  standing  there  on  the  stage  surveying  an  imagi- 
nary audience  of  1142  people,  •  the  bell  sounded  from  the  tower, 
and,  a  sudden  inspiration  coming  upon  me,  I  proceeded  to  ''speak 
my  piece,"  which  went  off  in  ringing  verse  and  some  sort  of  prose 
about  as  follows  : — 

"Ring  out  wild  bell  to  the  wild  sky, 
Ring,  happy  bell." 

If  we  boys  in  the  forties  could  have  heard  your  stroke  instead 
of  the  big  dinner  bell  that  used  to  ring  us  into  school,  perhaps 
we  might  have  saved  some  "tardy  marks."  The  sound  of  that 
old  hand-bell  shaking  its  peremptory  call  once  more  out  of  the 
north-east  window,  and  a  sight  again  of  the  stalwart  form  behind 
it,  would  delight  us,  but  undoubtedly  the  new  style  is  better  for 
today  than  the  old,  therefore 

"Ring,  happy  bell: 
Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new" 

and  keep  on  ringing  for  a  thousand  years. 

GRADED   VILLAGE    SCHOOLS 

Early  in  1854  the  discussion  relating  to  improved  methods 
resulted  in  a  proposition  for  a  high  or  intermediate  school  on  the 
Plain  to  include  advanced  pupils  from  Paddock  and  Fairbanks 
Villages.  A  plan  was  approved  for  a  brick  building  costing 
$5000  to  be  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  Clark  Brothers'  store, 
afterward  the  Col.  Fletcher  property.     Another  plan  called  for  a 


EDUCATIONAL  253 

building  of  wood,  two  stories,  forty-eight  by  sixty  feet,  to  be 
paid  for  by  assessments  on  the  Village  Treasury  of  $500  a  year 
till  the  debt  should  be  liquidated.  This  proposition  prevailed, 
and  in  1856  the  building  was  planted  at  the  corner  of  Winter  and 
Summer  streets  on  the  west  end  of  the  present  boys'  common. 
After  serving  its  term  as  a  school  house  this  building  was  moved 
some  distance  up  the  street  where  it  was  converted  into  an 
armory,  and  later  reconstructed  into  a  two  tenement  building, 
number  57  Summer  street. 

The  new  Union  School  was  opened  Nov.  22,  1856,  Andrew 
E.  Rankin,  Principal  for  three  years ;  after  him  Charles  D. 
Swazey,  Edward  T.  Fairbanks,  Henry  C.  Newell.  There  were 
three  grades,  primary,  intermediate  and  high.  The  growing 
school  came  to  need  larger  and  better  housing.  A  most  favor- 
able site,  the  one  still  occupied,  on  the  west  side  of  Summer 
street,  was  donated  by  the  Fairbanks  Company,  and  the  new 
brick  Central  School  House,  as  it  was  then  called,  was  built, 
having  improved  methods  of  furnace  heating  and  ventilating  and 
ample  room  to  accommodate  400  pupils ;  it  was  dedicated  August 
31,  1864,  with  an  address  by  Supt.  J.  S.  Adams  of  the  State 
Board  of  Education.  Maple  Street  School  house  was  built  the 
same  season. 

At  this  time  consolidation  of  the  districts  was  effected.  Hith- 
erto the  Union  School  had  merely  brought  together  pupils  from 
three  districts  each  of  which  meantime  retained  its  own  directors. 
These  three  were  now  incorporated  into  district  number  one,  and 
the  title  Village  High  School  was  adopted.  George  E.  West  was 
first  Principal,  C.  Q.  Terrill  the  second,  Henry  Galbraith  the 
third,  C.  L.  Clay  the  fourth.  The  new  system  was  entered  in  to 
heartily  and  "without  stint  of  reasonable  expenditure."  It  worked 
satisfactorily  until  the  expenditure  began  to  appear  unreasonable. 
In  1870  it  was  pointed  out  that,  with  an  average  attendance  of 
twenty-seven  at  the  High  School,  "the  cost  per  pupil  amounted  to 
$70  a  year ;  that  is  $1000  a  year  more  to  educate  them  in  this 
school  than  to  send  them  to  the  Academy."  Arrangements  were 
accordingly  made,  and  in  1874  the  High  School  was  discontinued 
as  such,  and  advanced  pupils  were  sent  to  the  Academy  for  a 


254  TOWN   OF   ST.   JOHNSBURY 

three-year  course,  the  tuition  at  that  time  being  $30.  This  left 
two  grammar  schools  on  the  upper  floor  of  the  Central  School 
House,  one  intermediate  and  two  primary  schools  on  the  ground 
floor,  two  primary  on  Maple  street,  and  one  each  at  Fairbanks 
and  at  Paddock  Villages;  and  the  system  of  gradation  was  re- 
vised and  perfected.  Prior  to  1870,  the  school  age  was  from  4 
to  18,  after  that  date,  from  5  to  20.  By  the  destruction  of  the  school 
records  in  the  fire  of  Nov.  3,  1882,  details  of  the  doings  of  26 
years  preceding  were  lost.  The  upper  brick  school  house  on 
Summer  street  was  built  in  1881. 

Under  the  town  school  system,  established  by  Legislature  in 
1892,  the  districts  as  independent  organizations  were  abolished  ; 
the  town  was  constituted  the  sole  district,  with  control  and  owner- 
ship of  all  public  school  property.  The  inventory  of  the  property 
thus  taken  over  by  the  town  in  1893,  aggregated  $43,146.17 — of 
which  amount  the  valuation  of  the  two  Summer  street  buildings 
was  $30,500,  eighteen  other  school'  houses  $17,388;  miscellaneous, 
$5,258.  By  the  new  Act  provision  was  made  for  the  appointment 
by  the  town  of  school  directors  and  a  superintendent  of  public 
schools  ;  for  transportation  of  pupils  and  a  daily  register  of  at- 
tendance, the  school  age  being  from  five  to  fifteen ;  women  en- 
titled to  vote  on  all  school  matters.  Under  the  required  curric- 
ulum the  first  place  was  given  to  instruction  in  good  behaviour. 
The  new  system  went  into  operation  in  August  1893,  Mrs.  Belle 
F.  Fletcher  acting  Superintendent,  for  seven  months.  There  were 
then  twelve  schools  outside  the  village.  William  P.  Kelley, 
Superintendent  three  years  1894-1897,  demonstrated  the  practical 
superiority  of  the  town  school  system  and  carried  it  to  a  high 
point  of  efficiency.  He  published  a  valuable  manual  of  nearly  a 
hundred  pages  setting  forth  the  courses  of  study  and  lists  of  sup- 
plementary reading.  His  successors  were  Herbert  J.  Jones,  1897- 
1898;  Clarence  H.  Dempsey,  1898-1908;  Corwin  F.  Palmer,  1908. 
Prior  to  1895  there  were  ten  grades ;  since  that  time  pupils  who 
have  completed  the  ninth  grade  in  good  standing  are  given  four 
years  at  the  Academy,  making  a  consecutive  course  of  thirteen 
years  provided  by  the  town.  The  average  expense,  1912,  is 
about  $42,000  a   year;    of   which   $19,000   may  be   reckoned   for 


EDUCATIONAL  255 

superintendence  and  instruction  in  the  schools  ;  $8,700  for  Acad- 
emy tuition  ;  $3,400  for  transportation  ;  $7,300  for  care  of  build- 
ings, fuel,  light,  supplies,  etc.;  $3,600,  repairs  and  general. 

In  1895,  and  for  some  years  thereafter,  the  Caledonia  Nor- 
mal School  for  teachers  was  held  under  direction  of  Supt.  Kelley  ; 
the  enrollment  the  first  year  was  135,  larger  than  in  any  similar 
school  in  the  state ;  receipts  were  $546,  and  expenses  $506.  The 
Woman's  Club  appropriated  $150  for  a  six  weeks'  vocational 
school  in  August  1904,  in  which  104  pupils  were  enrolled.  In- 
struction was  given  in  woodwork,  sloyd,  basketry,  chair-seating, 
weaving,  cookery,  needle  work.  The  results  were  such  that  at 
the  next  March  meeting  $300  was  voted  by  the  town  for  a  similar 
school  that  year.  In  April  1912,  there  were  distributed  among 
the  school  children  4370  packages  of  seeds  for  vegetable  and 
flower  gardens,  which  gave  them  out-door  schooling  that  season. 

The  new  brick  school  house  in  Summerville  was  opened  in 
April  1900.  In  style  and  appointments  it  ranked  any  other  in  the 
town.  The  old  wooden  building  was  sold  for  $200,  the  new  one 
cost  $23,000.  School  bonds  for  $20,000  were  issued  by  the  town, 
maturing  in  four  years,  from  1911-1914.  The  entire  issue  was 
bought  by  the  Brattleboro  Savings  Bank  at  a  premium  of  $7.64 
per  thousand,  regarded  as  a  gratifying  indication  of  the  credit  of 
St.  Johnsbury  town. 

Our  public  schools  have  been  maintained  at  a  standard  of 
superior  excellence,  and  with  continuous  adoption  of  improved 
new  methods  and  appliances.  This  in  part  explains  the  priority 
of  Caledonia  County  at  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century ;  for 
while  in  other  Vermont  counties  the  percentage  of  illiterate  voters 
was  one  in  14,  15,  16,  20,  26,  29,  34,  35,  37,  53,  55,  60,  67— in  Cale- 
donia the  percentage  was  one  in  70. 

That  the  process  of  lifting  Caledonia  to  its  front  rank  cost 
the  boys  and  girls  of  this  town  some  expenditure  of  brain  appears 
in  their  efforts  at  word-construction.  A  word  they  were  working 
on  in  1891  appears  to  have  reflected  their  mental  attitude ;  they 
were  anxious  to  do  well  and  out  of  their  anxiety  they  succeeded 
in  evolving  the  following  collection  : — 


256  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


anxious 

ancios 

anchious 

anchons 

anskus 

anchios 

an  gees 

anzores 

anxios 

anxches 

anchois 

anchionsh 

anches 

anxcus 

anish 

enchanix 

anxioux 

ancher 

antious 

anguish 

This  last  indicates  a  state  of  mind  somewhat  advanced  from 
the  anxious  stage. 

While  as  a  whole  this  was  a  performance  quite  creditable  to 
our  juvenile  people,  it  falls  far  below  the  achievements  of  some  of 
our  ancestors.  For  in  a  recent  work  on  The  Romance  of  Words, 
an  English  scholar,  Ernest  Weekley,  remarks  that  "about  400 
variants  of  the  word  cushion  have  been  traced  in  old  English  wills 
and  inventories."  With  superior  facilities  for  twentieth  century 
education,  our  children  may  yet  discover  latent  possibilities  ag- 
gregating some  400  in  the  word  anxious,  which  now  stands  on  our 
town  school  records  with  only  twenty  variants. 

Parochial  schools  are  noted  in  the  paragraph  relating  to 
Notre  Dame  parish  to  which  they  belong. 


^S.           ~'*i* 

***   Kg* 

JUDGE   PADDOCK 
JUDGE    POLAND 


PRINCIPAL   COLBY 
JUDGE   ROSS 


XXI 


EXPANSION 


CANAL  PROJECT — MODEL  OF  A  RAILWAY — TOWN  ACTION — C.  AND 
P.  R.  R. — THE  CARS  ARRIVE — DEPOT  GROUNDS — LOCAL  AN- 
NOUNCEMENTS— NEW  HOTELS — COUNTY  BUILDINGS — TRANS- 
FER OF  BURIAL  GROUND — FIFTY  MEN  ON  BOND — COURT  HOUSE 
AND  TOWN  HALL — CATTLE  FAIRS — CALEDONIA  FAIR  GROUNDS 
— NOTABLE  FAIRS  AND  EXHIBITS. 


THE    PASSUMPSIC    RAILROAD 

"The  fact  is,  people  would  as  soon  suffer  themselves  to  be  fired  off  like 
a  Congreve  Cannon  Rocket,  as  trust  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  such  a 
machine  going  eighteen  miles  an  hour  on  rails." 

The  British  Quarterly,  1825. 

"The  project  of  a  railroad  from  Boston  to  Albany  is  impracticable,  and 
everybody  of  common  sense  knows  it  would  be  as  useless  as  a  railroad  from 
Boston  to  the  Moon."  Boston  Courier,  Jan.  27,  1827. 

Some  while  before  railroads  had  been  considered  a  possibili- 
ty up  in  this  part  of  the  world,  serious  talk  was  had  of  a  canal  that 
might  connect  Connecticut  river  with  Lake  Memphremagog  via 
St.  Johnsbury.  In  1830  a  meeting  of  citizens  representing  the 
Passumpsic  Valley  was  held  here  in  Rice's  Hotel,  the  result  of 
which  was  that  investment  in  the  stock  of  such  an  enterprise  was 
regarded  with  approval.  This  sentiment  was  strengthened 
by  the  arrival  the  next  year  of  a  steamboat,  the  John  Ledyard, 
from  Hartford,  Conn.,  at  Wells  River,  and 

"They  hailed  the  day  when  Captain  Nutt 
Sailed  up  the  fair  Connecticut." 


258  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

In  1829  a  model  of  a  railroad  was  put  on  exhibition  over  at 
the  East  Village  in  Hibbard's  Hotel.  His  little  girl  was  lifted 
into  a  car  and  told  that  some  day  she  might  ride  to  Boston  in  a 
train  of  cars  drawn  by  steam.  It  required  considerable  imagina- 
tion and  faith  to  accept  such  a  prophecy,  especially  if  one  had 
happened  to  read  the  Boston  Courier.  But  in  1832  a  train  of  cars 
was  really  pulled  by  steam  from  Boston  to  Lowell,  the  first  train 
in  New  England.  A  contemporary  who  saw  it  start  recorded 
some  remarks  overheard  while  "the  crowd  was  waiting  at  the 
deepot : " 

"Say  !  that  injine  cant  never  start  all  them  cars  !" 

"She  can  too!" 

"I  tell  you,  she  cant !     She'll  break  down  and  kill  everybody  !" 

No  such  tragic  event  happened  ;  the  trial  trip  was  a  triumph 
and  thereafter  the  railroad  proposition  found  favor,  notwithstand- 
ing that  "the  horses  would  all  have  to  be  killed  as  being  no  longer 
of  any  use,  and  the  farmers  would  be  ruined  having  no  market 
for  hay  and  oats."  The  Boston  and  Lowell  line  was  pushed  on 
toward  Albany.  After  a  time  it  seemed  not  wholly  improbable 
that  a  railroad  might  some  day  be  seen  creeping  up  the  Connecti- 
cut valley. 

It  was  to  consider  such  a  possibility  that  a  convention  was 
called  to  meet  at  Windsor,  January  20,  1836.  A  special  town 
meeting  was  held  here  at  which  a  delegation  was  appointed  to 
represent  St.  Johnsbury  at  that  railroad  convention.  The  dele- 
gates were  Erastus  Fairbanks,  Huxham  Paddock,  Abel  Butler, 
Luther  Jewett,  Ephraim  Paddock.  The  chairman  of  this  delega- 
tion was  an  active  promoter  of  the  project,  and  was  made  the 
first  President  of  the  road  that  finally  came  through.  At  the 
March  meeting  that  year  the  local  interest  took  form  in  the  fol- 
lowing action : — 

"Resolved,  that  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Johnsbury  regard  with  lively  in- 
terest the  efforts  now  making  to  have  a  railroad  constructed  from  the  Tide 
Water  at  New  Haven  to  the  Canada  line  through  the  vallies  of  the  Connecti- 
cut and  Passumpsic  rivers.  Resolved,  that  this  Town  does  hereby  pledge 
itself  to  defray  its  just  proportion,  with  other  towns  concerned,  in  the  ex- 
pense of  surveying  the  above  railroad  route." 


EXPANSION  259 

Seven  years  later  the  General  Assembly  on  Oct.  31,  1843, 
chartered  a  railroad  that  should  start  from  the  Massachusetts  line 
running  up  the  Connecticut  and  Passumpsic  rivers  to  the  Canada 
line  at  Newport  or  Derby.  In  1845  the  right  was  secured  to 
divide  the  line  at  the  mouth  of  the  White  River,  north  of  which 
should  be  the  Connecticut  and  passumpsic  rivers  railroad. 

The  organization  of  this  road  was  effected  at  Wells  River 
Jan.  15,  1846,  with  Erastus  Fairbanks,  President.  The  section 
from  White  River  to  Wells  River  was  opened  for  traffic  Nov.  6, 
1849.  Trains  were  run  as  far  as  Mclndoes  Oct.  7, 1850.  On  the  18th 
of  November  the  same  year  the  whistle  of  a  locomotive  was  heard 
in  this  town  and  the  small  construction  engine  Plymouth,  popu- 
larly denominated  the  Quill  Wheel,  rounded  the  point  below  the 
Fair  Grounds.  Ten  days  later  the  first  train  from  Boston  pulled 
in  to  this  station,  Nov.  28,  1850.  The  next  issue  of  the  Cale- 
donian contained  this  announcement : — 

THE    CARS   HAVE    COME  ! 

"Last  Thursday,  at  about  half  past  four  o'clock  the  first  reg- 
ular train  of  Passenger  Cars  came  in  to  town.  It  was  a  cheering 
sight  especially  for  those  who  have  labored  so  long  and  diligently 
to  extend  the  Passumpsic  Railroad  to  this  place.  There  was  no 
formal  opening  of  the  Road,  but  many  people  were  present  and  a 
little  extemporaneous  enthusiasm  was  exhibited.  The  arrival 
was  greeted  by  the  ringing  of  bells,  firing  of  cannon,  and  the 
cheers  of  the  people  assembled  upon  the  station  grounds." 

The  contracts  for  grading  and  masonry  from  Wells  River  to 
St.  Johnsbury,  20}^  miles,  were  made  Dec.  10,  1849.  The  work 
was  begun  Jan.  23,  1850  and  completed  Nov.  23,  1850.  There 
were  45,000  cubic  yards  of  rock  blasted  out,  and  a  million  cubic 
yards  of  earth  excavation.  The  entire  cost  of  construction  was 
met  by  the  proceeds  of  bonds  negotiated  at  par.  In  1850,  a  New 
York  newspaper  said — "in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  Boston  money 
market,  by  the  efforts  of  and  confidence  reposed  in  Mr.  Addison 
Gilmore  and  Mr.  Erastus  Fairbanks,  the  bonds  of  the  Passumpsic 
Railroad  Company  were  negotiated  at  par  to  such  an  extent  as  to 


260  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

allow  the  continuation  of  the  road  from  Wells  River  to  St.  Johns- 
bury,  thus  accomplishing  a  great  step  in  the  progress  toward 
Montreal."  The  stock  of  this  road  sold  readily  and  uniformly 
paid  six  per  cent  dividends.  The  business  done  fully  realized 
the  expectation  of  its  projectors.  There  were  four  locomotives 
in  the  regular  service,  bearing  the  names  Caledonia,  Orange, 
Orleans,   Green  Mountain  Boy. 

DEPOT   GROUNDS   AND   BUILDINGS 

The  grounds  comprised  thirteen  acres  lying  one  hundred  feet 
below  the  Plain  level,  and  east  of  the  village  burial  ground. 
Three  new  roads  were  built  to  the  station.  One  from  the  Plain 
down  directly  north  of  the  burial  ground  (Eastern  Avenue);  one 
from  Dea.  Luther  Clark's  house,  (Maple  street);  one  from  the 
bridge  at  Paddock  Village.  The  buildings  erected  by  the  Rail- 
road Company  were,  Passenger  Station  75x30  ft.;  Freight  Build- 
ing, 50x250,  fifty  feet  at  south  end  being  property  of  E.  and  T. 
Fairbanks  and  Co.  for  scales ;  Car  House  40x100  ft.;  Repair  Shop 
40x100  ft.;  Repair  Shop  40x125  ;  Wood  House  40x100  ft.;  Engine 
House,  semi  circular,  52x130  on  rear,  with  pits  for  five  engines ; 
three  double  dwelling  houses.  The  Repair  Shops  after  being 
burned  in  1866  were  rebuilt  in  Lyndonville.  North  of  the  Pas- 
senger Station  the  wholesale  store  of  Chamberlin  and  Fletcher 
was  erected  in  1851,  where  the  Swift  building  now  is.  On  the 
site  of  the  Avenue  House,  Russell  Hallett  built  a  spacious  hotel. 
The  first  dwelling  house  on  Railroad  street  was  built  March  1850, 
by  Amos  Morrill.  At  that  date  there  had  been  neither  road  nor 
building  east  of  Main  street  except  the  little  farm  house  lower 
down  where  the  first  pitch  had  been  made  in  Nov.  1786.  In  1870 
there  were  more  than  200  buildings  of  from  $1000  to  $30,000 
value  each,  standing  on  the  nine  new  streets. 

LOCAL  ANNOUNCEMENTS  ON  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  TRAINS 

Nov.  1850.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  visiting  the  Depot  at  St.  Johnsbury, 
are  invited  as  they  arrive  at  the  new  and  splendid  Depot  Hotel  and  wishing 
to  take  a  view  of  the  scenery  around  in  the  promenade  upon  the  piazza,  to 
ascend  the  stairs  at  the  northeast  end  of  said  piazza,  where  they  shall  find 


EXPANSION  261 

their  old  friend  Aaron  Farnham  who  will  show  them  in  his  spacious  ware 
rooms  the  most  splendid  assortment  of  furniture  ever  exhibited  in  Cale- 
donia Connty. 

And  should  you  want  to  make  a  bed, 
With  pillows  for  your  weary  head — 

He's  live  goose  feathers,  good  and  light, 
As  ever  mortal  graced  at  night 
And  these  he'll  sell  so  very  cheap 
That  with  him  no  one  can  compete. 

He  will  also  conduct  his  friends  to  the  pleasant  upper  Piazza — where  they 
can  have  a  fine  view  of  the  Depot  and  the  cars  as  they  arrive  from  the 
South  and  the  scenery  around. 

"Look  out  for  the  engine  while  the  bell  rings!" 

W.  T.  Burnham's  Fur  Store,  St.  Johnsbury. 

Accommodation  Stage  from  St.  Johnsbury  to  Stanstead.  The  People's 
Line  ;  Stage  leaves  after  arrival  of  the  cars.      Hawes,  Chamberlin  &  Co. 

Ephraim  Jewett.  The  most  commodious  store  in  northern  Vermont  ; 
and  every  grade  of  goods  needed  to  clothe  the  body  from  head  to  foot,  and 
also  to  furnish  the  house  from  cellar  to  garret. 

Musical  Instruments.  Aeolians,  Seraphines,  Melodeons,  etc.  Jefferson 
Butler,  Center  Village. 

Box  and  cooking  stoves  at  Paddock's  Furnace.  Fresh  Fish  and 
Oysters.     C.  Ramsey.     Fashionable  Taylor,  J.  Bowles. 

John  Bacon  has  just  purchased  the  Center  Village  Farmer's  and  Me- 
chanics Co.  Store,  and  offers  a  large  stock  for  sale. 

Look!  Look!  E.  Hall  and  Co.  Dress  goods,  Carpetings,  West  India  Goods 
and  groceries.     S.  W.  Slade,  Attorney  and  Counsellor  at  Law. 

Daguerreotype  Car!  skylighted,  just  come  from  Boston.  Newton 
Brooks. 

Doctors  Calvin  and  Fayette  Jewett.  First  door  north  of  the  Academy. 
Dr.  Kilbourne,  Dentist. 

J.  C.  Bingham,  Drugs,  Medicines  and  Musical  Instruments. 

New  goods  brought  in  on  the  Cars!  S.  Jewett,  just  north  of  the  Passen- 
ger Depot,  St.  Johnsbury. 

Ramsey'' s  Blinds  !  painted  and  hung  to  order ;  so  that  they  who  will 
not  be  blinded  are  blind  to  their  own  interests.  C.  F.  Ramsey  and  Com- 
pany, Paddock  Village. 

Two  years  after  the    Passumpsic  road  reached    this   place, 
Robert  B.  Hale  the  Superintendent,  took  a  position  on  the  Hudson 


262  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

River  railroad.  His  successor  was  Col.  George  A.  Merrill,  a  man 
of  superior  and  varied  abilities,  held  in  high  esteem  as  a  public 
spirited  citizen  ;  he  was  town  representative  in  1857-58  ;  Secretary 
of  civil  and  military  affairs  under  Governor  Fairbanks  at  outbreak 
of  the  war ;  he  built  the  brick  octagon  on  Eastern  Avenue  ;  in 
1866  he  became  Superintendent  of  the  Rutland  railroad. 

The  Boston,  Concord  and  Montreal  road  which  had  stoutly 
opposed  the  construction  of  the  Passumpsic  line,  laid  its  rails  to 
Woodsville  and  ultimately  became  tributary  to  it ;  the  air-line 
train,  so  called,  between  Boston  and  Montreal  via  Plymouth,  was 
put  on  in  1874,  and  remains  to  this  day  the  most  important  pas- 
senger train  that  pulls  in  to  our  station,  which  is  the  midway 
point  between  the  two  cities. 

In  the  spring  of  1883,  six  years  after  the  opening  of  the 
Lake  road,  a  new  union  station  was  built  of  brick ;  in  1900,  exten- 
sive improvements  in  and  around  the  station  were  made,  includ- 
ing new  tracks  and  covered  ways,  and  gates  at  the  Portland 
street  crossing. 

The  Passumpsic  road  was  leased  to  the  Boston  and  Lowell 
road,  January  1,  1887 ;  in  October  of  that  year  the  Boston  and 
Maine  took.,it  over  on  a  lease  of  ninety-nine  years. 

St.  Johnsbury  became  the  Vermont  terminus  of  the  Maine 
Central  in  1912,  thro  the  purchase  by  that  road  of  the  23-mile  link 
this  side  the  Connecticut  river. 

THE    NEW    HOTELS   OF    1850 

"Trust  me,   Sir,    you   have  excellent  fine  lodging    here,  very  neat  and 
private."  Ben  Jonson. 

The  opening  of  the  railroad  caused  a  demand  for  better  hotel 
accommodations,  and  in  1850  the  St.  Johnsbury  House  was  erect- 
ed on  the  Plain,  and  the  Passumpsic  House  near  the  Depot. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  House,  built  by  a  syndicate,  had  150 
rooms,  could  provide  for  200  guests,  was  neatly  furnished  and 
ranked  at  that  time  among  the  best  in  the  State.  A.  C.  Jennings 
conducted  it  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  his  patrons  from  1851 
to  1853.  His  successor,  Col.  Carter,  remained  only  two  years,  but 
they  were  years  of  popular  favor.      A  newspaper  correspondent 


EXPANSION  263 

wrote — "Pleasure  seeking  travelers  to  the  White  Mountains  will  of 
course  take  in  St.  Johnsbury  on  their  way,  if  only  for  the  purpose  of 
enjoying  the  comfort  of  a  few  days  under  the  Colonel's  hospitable 
roof.  The  house  is  new,  spacious,  conveniently  arranged,  nicely 
furnished  ;  and,  what  is  quite  as  much  to  the  purpose,  is  conduct- 
ed by  its  experienced  and  accomplished  host  in  a  manner  to  se- 
cure the  approbation  of  all."  A.  M.  Watson  bought  the  house  in 
1854  and  conducted  it  equally  well  for  eight  years  ;  he  made 
many  friends  amongst  the  traveling  public  who  were  always  glad 
to  come  to  St.  Johnsbury,  and  his  courtesy  and  personal  character 
won  the  high  regard  of  his  townsmen. 

Following  A.  M.  Watson  after  1862,  came  a  succession  of 
owners  and  proprietors  :  Hiram  Hill,  E.  A.  Parks,  Emery 
Thayer,  Gilmore,  Jerry  Drew,  Geo.  B.  Walker,  E.  E.  Bedell,  S. 
B.  Krogman,  Landlord  Chase,  B.  G.  Howe  and  others.  Hiram 
Hill  bought  of  Watson  in  1862  for  $6500,  and  sold  in  1871  to  Gil- 
more  for  $20,000.  In  1875  Parks  and  Thayer  paid  $19,500,  for  it, 
minus  furniture ;  Bedell  paid  Jerry  Drew  $23,000,  in  the  trade  of 
1884,  backed  by  a  syndicate  of  20  men,  seventeen  of  whom,  in  the 
hope  of  securing  high  class  management,  had  signed  a  promis- 
sory note  for  $8000,  deposited  in  the  First  National  Bank,  to 
complete  the  purchase  price  of  $26,300.  Bedell  who  had  been 
recommended  from  Jefferson,  N.  H.,  proved  to  be  a  failure  and  a 
scamp;  after  a  year's  time  he  had  paid  nothing  on  the  note,  tho 
the  contract  called  for  $100  a  month  and  interest.  Then  suddenly 
he  was  missing,  leaving  the  property  with  a  mortgage  of  $18,300 
on  it  plus  the  $8,000  note. 

A.  G.  Tolman  and  William  Little  were  engaged  to  run  the 
hotel  so  as  to  win  patronage,  which  they  did ;  setting  a  superior 
table  at  prices  that  did  not  cover  costs.  Extensive  improvements 
were  made  with  a  view  to  effecting  a  sale.  Then  it  was  discov- 
ered that  outside  parties  had  been  maligning  the  house  amongst 
the  traveling  public  along  the  whole  line  of  the  railroad.  A  sale 
was  rendered  impossible,  tho  Bedell  had  at  one  time  had  an  offer 
from  Hugh  Moore  of  $31,000  for  it.  Meantime  the  expense  in- 
curred and  interest  accrued  brought  the  indebtedness  up  to 
$11,288,    and   on   the   15th  of  Jan.  1887,  the  seventeen  signers  of 


264  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  note  were  obliged  to  pay  cash  down  $660.47  each,  and  the 
property  was  left  standing  in  the  name  of  the  Bank,  which  held 
the  mortgage  till  about  1900.  From  this  disaster  the  old  St. 
Johnsbury  House  never  recovered ;  its  former  prestige  was  gone  ; 
it  passed  from  hand  to  hand  with  varying  fortunes ;  at  times  it 
was  well  conducted,  but  the  building  continued  to  deteriorate  and 
finally  the  ownership  of  it  passed  out  of  the  town.  In  1913  a 
syndicate  organized  in  the  Commercial  Club  bought  the  property ; 
enlarged,  remodeled  and  entirely  rebuilt  the  house,  converting  it 
into  a  new  hotel  of  modern  style  and  equipment  on  the  old  tavern 
site  at  the  Bend. 

The  Passumpsic  House  was  built  by  Russell  Hallett  at  the 
corner  of  Railroad  street  and  Eastern  avenue,  costing  about 
$4000,  and  opened  in  1850.  Horace  Evans  of  Danville  bought  it 
in  1854  after  several  years'  successful  conduct  of  a  temperance 
hotel  in  that  town.  Clough  and  Downing  took  it  in  1856,  and 
from  1860  to  1862  Col.  O.  G.  Harvey  was  proprietor.  Then  came 
S.  K.  Remick  of  Hardwick  ;  the  house  was  not  in  good  condition 
and  he  bought  it  for  $3800.  He  made  extensive  additions  and 
improvements,  and  finished  off  stores  that  rented  for  $860  a  year. 
Remick  began  with  furnishing  liquor  which  he  considered  a  nec- 
essary item  in  a  good  hotel.  It  did  not  prove  profitable  finan- 
cially ;  after  losing  more  than  $1000  in  payment  of  fines  and 
facing  liability  of  a  lodging  in  jail  for  the  next  offence,  he  closed 
out  liquor  dealing  entirely,  conducted  a  strictly  temperance  house 
and  made  $20,000.  From  this  time  on  he  stoutly  challenged  the 
popular  saying  that  a  hotel  could  not  be  made  to  pay  without  rum. 
In  1867  he  sold  the  Passumpsic  House  to  Jonathan  Farr  of  Water- 
ford  for  $12,000.  This  was  considered  at  the  time  a  notably 
profitable  deal  in  real  estate.  Bela  S.  Hastings  was  installed  pro- 
prietor, after  him  O.  G.  Hale,  who  paid  $15,000  and  remained 
from  1869  to  1875.  He  enlarged  the  building  four  stories  high 
to  168  feet  on  Railroad  street  and  400  feet  on  the  Avenue,  putting 
in  stores  and  offices  that  brought  rentals  of  $1512  a  year.  Morri- 
son and  Howe  bought  the  property  in  1875  for  $24,000,  and  from 
this  time  it  was  called  The  Avenue  House.  B.  G.  Howe  be- 
came sole  proprietor,  and  held  it  for  about  22  years.     In  1891  he 


EXPANSION  265 

built  the  fine  structure  known  as  Howe's  Opera  House,  connected 
with  the  Hotel.  In  1896  the  Avenue  House  was  burned,  involv- 
ing a  loss  of  $60,000.  It  was  immediately  rebuilt  by  Mr.  Howe, 
making  with  the  Opera  House  a  substantial  brick  block  at  this 
conspicuous  corner  of  Eastern  avenue.  The  next  year  Manager 
Doyle  took  $31,642  cash  from  patrons,  plus  $400  book  accounts. 
He  paid  for  meat  exclusive  of  fish  and  game,  $3699 ;  for  heating 
$250  a  month  in  the  winter,  for  light  $65  a  month.  The  manage- 
ment went  into  the  hands  of  a  syndicate  for  some  years  ;  mortgages 
on  the  property  accumulated  amounting  to  $68,672 ;  in  March 
1901,  it  was  sold  to  Matthew  Caldbeck  for  $70,000.  Somewhile 
later  the  Opera  House  was  dismantled  and  converted  into  apart- 
ments for  rental. 

the  cottage  hotel.  One  morning  before  breakfast  in 
1852,  the  lot  on  which  this  building  stands  was  purchased  of  Dr. 
Bancroft  by  Richard  B.  Flint,  in  exchange  for  a  horse  valued  at 
$200.  At  that  time  Mr.  Flint  put  up  a  house  twenty-two  by 
twenty-eight  feet,  which  in  after  years  he  enlarged  to  fifty  by 
seventy  feet  with  three  stories,  and  opened  as  the  Cottage  Hotel. 
It  was  well  named,  being  a  strictly  temperance  house,  with  a 
quiet  home  like  atmosphere  and  family  cordiality  that  won  exten- 
sive patronage  and  made  it  for  more  than  thirty  years  a  favor- 
ite traveler's  home.  Mr.  Flint  opened  the  first  livery  on  Railroad 
street ;  he  had  fine  horses  and  was  a  reliable  dealer  ;  during  the 
Civil  war  he  purchased  and  personally  delivered  in  one  bunch  at 
Washington  253  horses  for  the  government  service,  all  but  one  of 
which  were  accepted  as  sound  and  in  prime  condition.  He  fur- 
nished a  total  of  1240  horses  for  cavalry  service. 

Shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the  war  Governor  Fairbanks 
was  to  go  on  a  special  engine  via  White  River  to  St.  Albans  to 
dispatch  a  regiment.  Mr.  Flint  said  he  could  shorten  the  time 
by  landing  him  on  an  engine  at  Montpelier.  He  took  a  pair  of 
horses  that  had  been  on  a  dump  cart  part  of  that  day,  put  them  in 
trim  for  the  trip,  drove  to  Marshfield,  there  treated  each  horse  to 
a  quart  of  bran  in  water,  brought  the  Governor  to  the  Montpelier 
engine  in  three  hours  from  St.  Johnsbury,  without  a  wet  hair  on 


266  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  horses,    merely  running  over  a  Plainfield  skunk  that  wasn't 
spry  enough  to  get  out  of  the  way. 

THE    SHIRE    TOWN    1856 

In  1796,  on  the  organization  of  Caledonia  County,  Danville, 
a  central  and  important  town,  was  constituted  the  shire,  and  re- 
mained such  for  sixty  years.  After  the  opening  of  the  Passumpsic 
Railroad,  St.  Johnsbury,  by  reason  of  its  rapid  growth  and  ac- 
cessibility began  to  be  regarded  as  the  business  center  of  the 
County  and  the  most  desirable  place  for  the  County  buildings. 
The  question  of  a  change  of  location  was  recurring  from  year  to 
year,  till  1855,  when  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  a  Committee  of 
three  disinterested  persons  was  appointed  to  examine  and  select 
the  best  location  between  Barnet  and  Lyndon  for  the  Court  House 
and  other  County  buildings.  The  men  who  served  on  this  Com- 
mittee were  Thomas  Reed  of  Montpelier,  Judge  Hebard  of 
Chelsea,  John  Pierpont  of  Vergennes.  After  due  examination 
made,  this  Committee  met  at  St.  Johnsbury,  Nov.  29,  1855,  and 
made  their  report,  as  directed,  to  the  County  Judges.  Hon. 
Thomas  Bartlett  appeared  urging  the  claims  of  Lyndon,  Joseph 
Potts  Esq.  argued  for  Barnet,  Judge  Poland  for  St.  Johnsbury. 
The  Committee  rejected  all  consideration  of  pecuniary  offers 
from  the  different  towns,  basing  their  decision  solely  on  the  ques- 
tion of  best  accomodating  the  people  of  the  County.  They  made 
choice  of  St.  Johnsbury  for  the  shire  town. 

The  bill  that  authorized  this  change  had  passed  the  House  by 
a  vote  of  170  to  19,  and  had  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Senate.  It 
authorized  the  County  Judges  to  purchase  suitable  grounds,  and 
secure  contracts  for  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings.  They 
immediately  purchased  the  old  burial  ground,  from  which  all 
bodies  had  been  removed  in  anticipation  of  this  event.  Question 
as  to  the  validity  of  the  title  that  could  be  given,  having  been  in 
the  air,  a  bond  in  the  sum  of  $10,000,  signed  by  citizens  who  were 
said  at  the  time  to  be  responsible  for  more  than  half  a  million, 
was  given  to  the  Judges.  This  instrument,  with  the  fifty-two 
names  upon  it,  is  here  entered  as  an  interesting  item  in  the 
history  of  that  period. 


EXPANSION 


267 


BOND 


"Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  we  who  have  hereunto  signed  our 
names  and  affixed  our  seals,  are  held  and  firmly  bound  unto  the  County  of 
Caledonia  in  the  penal  sum  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars,  for  the  payment  of 
which  sum  well  and  truly  to  be  made  to  the  said  County  of  Caledonia,  we 
bind  ourselves  and  each  of  us,  our  heirs,  executors  and  administrators  firmly 
by  these  presents,  in  testimony  whereof  we  have  hereunto  signed  our  names 
and  set  our  seals  at  St.  Johnsbury  in  said  County,  on  this  sixth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, A.  D.  1856. 

"The  condition  of  the  above  obligation  is  such  that,  if  said  Caledonia 
County  shall  erect  a  Court  House  upon  a  piece  of  ground  in  the  Village  of 
St.  Johnsbury  heretofore  used  and  occupied  for  a  burying  ground  ;  but 
from  which,  persons  buried  there  have  been  removed — for  the  use  of  Cale- 
donia County  ;  and  the  said  County  shall  never  more  hereafter  be  disturbed 
or  molested  in  the  occupancy  of  said  land  for  that  purpose  so  long  as  they 
shall  so  occupy  it,  but  shall  quietly  enjoy  and  possess  the  same— this  obliga- 
tion shall  be  void  and  of  no  effect.  But  if  said  County  shall  ever  be  evicted 
from  the  occupation  of  said  land  for  the  purpose  above  named,  then  shall 
this  obligation  be  in  full  force  and  effect,  and  the  obligors  covenant  to 
indemnify  and  save  harmless  the  said  County  against  all  loss  and  damage 
sustained  by  such  eviction."  Signed 


Ephraim  Paddock 
Erastus  Fairbanks 
H.  H.  Deming 
Joseph  Boles 
Frank  Deming 
Ephraim  Jewett 
E.  F.  Brown 
B.  Moulton 
E.  C.  Redington 
B.  B.  Clark 
Horace  Paddock 
Samuel  Jewett 
S.  W.  Slade 


Ephraim  Chamberlin 
John  Stevens 
A.  J.  Willard 
J.  P.  Bancroft 
Geo.  A.  Merrill 
Moses  Kittredge 
Jona.  Ivawrence 
Hubbard  Hastings 
Noah  Eastman 
Horace  Fairbanks 
Thomas  Spooner 
Selim  Frost 
J.  M.  Warner 


Francis  Bingham 
T.  Treseott 
A.  H.  Wilcox 
J.  C.  Bingham 
John  Hawes 
S.  G.  Brackett 
T.  M.  Howard 
Thaddeus  Fairbanks 
A.  G.  Chadwick 
James  K.  Colby 
Russell  Hallett 
Nathan  Ayer 
George  Downing 


Emerson  Hall 
Wm.  S.  Watson 
Franklin  Fairbanks 
l,evi  Fuller 
Asa  Iy.  French 

D.  Boy  n  ton 
Isaac  Woods 
William  Sanborn 
J.  S.  Carr 
Beniah  Sanborn 
Iyambert  Hastings 
Calvin  Morrill 

E.  D.  Blodgett 


The  way  was  now  clear  to  proceed  with  the  work  of  construc- 
tion. The  Court  House  as  originally  planned  was  to  cost 
$13,000.  To  secure  architectural  features  not  possible  under 
that  specification,  individuals  in  the  town  subscribed  an  additional 
amount  of  $1200.  This  secured  the  erection  of  a  building  of 
brick  with  brown  stone  trimmings  in  the  Italian  style,  fronting 
96  feet  on  Main  street,  enclosing  a  court  room  52  by  57  feet  and 
a  town  hall  52  by  65  feet  dimensions,  with  requisite  official  rooms 
and  offices. 


268  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

The  contract  for  building  was  awarded  to  E.  and  T.  Fair- 
banks and  Company.  Work  was  begun  in  May,  and  in  December 
it  was  pronounced  "finished  in  a  most  substantial  and  workman- 
like manner,  every  item  in  the  specifications  having  been  execut- 
ed with  the  utmost  fidelity."  Of  the  entire  expense  of  $14,200 
rather  more  than  two-fifths  in  cash  was  met  by  the  town  of  St. 
Johnsbury,  viz. — for  the  Town  Hall  $3000,  share  of  County  tax 
$1770,  individual  subscriptions  $1200  ;  a  total  of  $5970  in  bills 
paid,  plus  special  consideration  on  the  estimated  valuation  of  the 
site,  which  would  bring  this  town's  investment  up  to  half  the  ap- 
praisal of  the  completed  work.  Thirty-three  years  later  import- 
ant improvements  were  made  on  the  interior,  and  in  an  annex  on 
the  east  side  a  commodious  vault  was  installed  for  records  and 
documents,  finished  November  1889,  at  an  expense  of  $9995.75. 

The  new  building  was  completed  in  time  to  seat  the  Decem- 
ber term  of  Court  1856,  Judge  Poland  presiding.  At  the  close 
of  the  session  Hon.  C.  S.  Dana  gave  a  reception  to  members  of 
the  bar  and  citizens  at  the  St.  Johnsbury  House.  Among  those 
who  participated  in  events  of  the  evening  were  Stoddard  B. 
Colby,  S.  B.  Mattocks,  Ephraim  Paddock,  James  D.  Bell,  C.  W. 
Willard,  Bliss  N.  Davis,  Thomas  Bartlett,  Geo.  C.  Cahoon,  Pliny 
H.  White,  Erastus  Fairbanks.  The  fraternal  courtesies  and  fel- 
lowships that  graced  the  occasion  were  declared  to  be  character- 
istic of  the  Caledonia  Bar.  The  new  and  well  appointed  home  of 
the  Court  elicited  congratulations  and  praise,  and  a  hearty  wel- 
come to  it  was  given  by  citizens  of  the  town. 

CATTLE    FAIRS   AND    FAIR    GROUNDS 

Old  fashioned  cattle  fairs  were  held  in  different  towns  of  the 
County  irregularly  till  1834,  after  which  date  they  became  an.  an- 
nual event.  An  account  of  the  Fair  of  1838  is  given  on  page  201. 
In  this  town  the  exhibitions  were  held  on  Main  street  and  the  ad- 
joining fields;  there  were  at  first  no  horse  trots  unless  "the  old 
French  Morrill  horse  was  warmed  up"  for  the  occasion.  House- 
hold products,  needle  work,  butter,  cheese,  preserves,  etc.  were 
displayed  in  the  Meeting  House  or  some  other  sheltered  place. 
Big  pumpkins  would  be  piled  up  outside.     On   the   level   fields 


EXPANSION  269 

where  Summer  street  now  runs,  were  held  the  plowing  matches  ; 
exciting  times  with  the  crowds  of  spectators,  the  shouts  of  Gee 
Buck  and  Haw  Star  to  the  oxen  "when  the  old  fashioned  Fair- 
banks swallow-tailed  plough  would  rip  up  the  furrows."  A  more 
systematic  management  of  the  Fairs  began  with  the  formation  of 

THE   CALEDONIA    COUNTY   AGRICULTURAL    SOCIETY 

At  the  call  of  63  men  of  the  County,  this  Society  was  organ- 
ized in  the  Inn  of  Joseph  Hutchinson,  present  site  of  the  St. 
Johnsbury  House,  Jan.  23,  1844.  Henry  Stevens  of  Barnet,  Pres- 
ident ;  J.  P.  Fairbanks,  Secretary.  From  the  records  of  this  first 
meeting  of  the  Society  is  taken  the  following  :  "Whereas,  it  has 
been  reported  that  Caledonia  County  surpasses  any  other  County 
in  the  Union  in  the  value  of  her  agricultural  products  in  propor- 
tion to  her  population ;  therefore,  Resolved  that  a  Committee  of 
three  be  appointed  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  ascertain  the  facts 
and  report  at  our  next  meeting  whether  Old  Caledonia  up  here  in 
Vermont  is  really  the  Banner  County  of  the  United  States."  The 
said  Committee  was  named,  but  no  record  of  their  findings  is  at 
hand.  Under  management  of  the  Agricultural  Society  the  annual 
Fairs  were  conducted  with  increasing  popular  interest  during  the 
next  ten  years ;  meanwhile  the  need  of  suitable  and  permanent 
grounds  was  becoming  more  urgent  and  imperative. 

COUNTY   FAIR  OF    1847.       ST.    JOHNSBURY    PLAIN.       SOME   PREMIUMS 

Best  yoke  oxen    $4         Best  heifer  or  bull  calf    $2 

Three  year  old  steers  $3        Two  year  old  colt       3        Stud  $5 

Milch  Cow  $3        Fine  wool  buck  sheep  $3 

Best  acre  wheat   $5        Corn  $4        Oats  $3        Potatoes  $3 

Six  squashes  50c  Square  rod  onions  50c  Box  honey  10  lbs.  $1 

30  lb.  tub  butter  $3        Tub   maple  sugar  $3        100  lbs.    cheese  $2 

Best  ten  yards  of  domestic 
Woolen  frocking  $1        Fulled  cloth  $1        Flannel  $1        Carpeting  $1 
Six  straw  hats  50c        6  Palm  leaf  hats  50c        Linen  table  spread  50c 

the  Caledonia  fairground  company  was  organized  in 
1855.  This  was  a  stock  company  of  50  shares  at  $20  each,  in 
which,  to  secure  wider  distribution  of  the  stock  no  person  at  the 
first  could  hold  more  than  two  shares.      Enough   however  was 


270  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

taken  to  secure  the  purchase  of  the  grounds  above  Paddock  Vil- 
lage now  occupied  by  the  Catholic  cemetery.  These  were  fenced 
and  fitted  up  with  a  temporary  track  and  cattle  sheds  and  a  build- 
ing 30  by  100  feet,  at  an  expense  of  $1000.  Members  of  the  Ag- 
ricultural Society  were  entitled  to  free  tickets.  Others  paid 
fifteen  cents. 

The  Fair  of  Sept.  15,  1855,  the  first  one  held,  far  surpassed 
any  other  ever  had  in  the  County.  Entries  were  double  the  usual 
number ;  this  town  had  a  string  of  28  yoke  of  oxen ;  ten  thousand 
people  were  in  attendance.  Col.  George  A.  Merrill  was  Chief 
Marshal;  the  parade  of  the  Fire  Companies  was  a  great  attraction, 
continued  with  150  torch  lights  in  the  evening.  "In  the  numbers 
present,  in  the  variety  and  extent  of  articles  and  animals  entered, 
in  the  orderly  and  well  arranged  conduct  of  everything,  the  County 
Fair  of  1855  stands  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Society,  and  seldom  if  ever  has  been  surpassed  by  any 
County  Fair  held  in  the  State."  A  man  from  Manchester,  N.  H. 
remarked  "I've  attended  a  good  many  State  and  County  fairs,  but 
never  one  where  such  admirable  arrangements  were  observable 
throughout.  You  Caledonia  folks  have  a  knack  of  doing  things 
that  we  haven't  yet  learned." 

At  the  Fair  of  1856,  the  first  balloon  ascension  in  the  town 
was  made  from  these  Paddock  Village  grounds,  by  John  Wise  of 
Boston  in  his  "Young  America."  This  balloon  was  inflated  with 
10,000  feet  of  gas.  The  day  was  a  good  one  ;  in  fifteen  minutes 
he  was  above  the  clouds  sailing  away  to  the  northeast ;  in  an 
hour  and  a  half  he  landed  in  Stratford,  N.  H.,  forty-five  miles 
away.  The  next  evening  he  returned  and  gave  a  story  of  his 
voyage  to  800  people  in  the  new  Union  Hall. 

On  the  11th  of  October,  1857,  the  Caledonia  Fair  Ground 
Company  was  reorganized  under  legislative  act  of  that  year,  and 
negotiations  were  begun  for  securing  the  new  grounds  on  the 
Passumpsic  road.  The  purchase  was  made,  a  half-mile  track  was 
laid  out,  the  floral  hall  erected,  being  at  that  time  the  largest  in 
the  state.  These  new  grounds  were  first  opened  for  the  Fair  of 
Sept.  28,  29,  1859. 


EXPANSION  271 

ON   THE    NEW    FAIR   GROUNDS 

The  Fair  of  1859  rivalled  all  preceding  ones.  The  new 
grounds  were  admired  as  having  peculiar  and  perfect  adaptation 
to  the  purpose  ;  the  interest  awakened  among  farmers,  mechanics, 
artisans,  ladies  and  in  fact  everybody  throughout  the  County 
amounted  to  enthusiasm.  Waterford  marched  111  yoke  of  oxen 
thro  the  gates,  said  to  be  the  largest  and  finest  string  ever  made 
up  in  one  town  in  the  state.  St.  Johnsbury's  team  of  75  yoke 
was  escorted  by  the  Cornet  Band ;  among  principal  owners  were 
Charles  Stark,  Nahum  Stiles,  Royal  Ayer,  W.  C.  Arnold,  Zelotes 
Spaulding,  Leonard  Shorey,  Harris  Knapp,  Hollis  Roberts.  The 
large  muscular  Natives  and  Durhams  were  interspersed  with 
beautiful  dark  red  symmetrical  Devons,  and  a  sprinkling  of  Ayre- 
shires  and  Herefords.  Sheep,  swine,  horses  and  colts  were 
abundant  and  excellent;  a  span  of  yearling  colts,  Black  Hawk 
Morgan,  gentle  and  spirited  tho  not  yet  used  to  harness,  were 
greatly  admired — also  the  white  stallion  finely  mounted  by  Col. 
Geo.  A.  Merrill,  Chief  Marshal.  There  were  many  superior  trot- 
ters on  the  course  notwithstanding  this  region  had  been  drained 
of  its  best  to  supply  the  city  markets.  Amongst  the  dairy  pro- 
ducts were  40  tubs  of  nice  butter  and  J  3  large  mellow  cheeses  ; 
more  than  400  articles  were  displayed  in  Floral  Hall,  a  large  ex- 
hibit of  homespun  making  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  the  day. 

At  the  Fair  of  1860  there  was  an  agricultural  car  built  at  the 
Center  Village,  an  immense  vehicle  drawn  by  55  yoke  of  oxen. 
In  1861  this  car  was  utilized  for  transporting  young  cattle,  sheep, 
pigs  and  fowls,  and  hanging  on  the  outer  walls  were  products  of 
the  field — squash,  pumpkins,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  the  whole  moving 
like  a  huge  triumphal  car  thro  tne  streets. 

The  Fair  of  1863  is  remembered  for  the  first  appearance  of  a 
horseless  carriage.  "The  great  novelty  known  as  Roper's  Steam 
Carriage  attracted  universal  attention  and  wonder.  It  was  greeted 
with  loud  huzzahs  as  it  came  on  to  the  track  and  many  took  the 
opportunity  of  riding  in  so  novel  a  vehicle.  It  is  lower  than  a 
common  buggy  ;  it  has  created  excitement  on  the  roads  around 
Boston." 


272  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

The  New  Fair  Grounds  became  the  general  rendezvous  for 
athletic  sports,  military  drills  and  camps,  also  the  tenting  field  for 
traveling  entertainments,  caravans,  circuses  and  miscellaneous 
attractions  that  came  along.  Atone  time  we  saw  the  Cardiff  Giant 
lying  here  in  state,  another  time  the  old  rickety  Deadwood  Coach 
was  set  upon  and  plundered  by  Buffalo  Bill's  Wild  West  riders,  as 
16,000  witnesses  could  testify.  The  announcements  of  the  Fair 
Ground  Company  record  a  voluminous  list  of  side  shows,  races, 
parades,  balloonings,  exhibits  and  events,  terrestrial  and  aerial, 
thro  fifty  years,  from  the  day  when  the  200  yoke  of  oxen  first 
paced  around  the  race  track,  to  the  bright  afternoon  in  1910, 
when  Willard  made  his  aeroplane  flight,  saluted  by  10,000  ad- 
mirers. 

At  the  Fair  of  1912  the  receipts  were  $12,437.50,  the  ex- 
penses $12,227.24. 


XXII 


WAR 


"Deeming  it  their  duty  to  fight  for  the  cause  of  Liberty  and  the  Greeks, 
even  against  Greeks."  Plato. 


When  Greeks  joined  Greeks  then  was  the  tug  of  war." 


SUNDAY  QUIET — A  TELEGRAM — PROCLAMATION  FROM  THIS  TOWN 
— RALLY  AT  TOWN  HALL — VOLUNTEERS — LADIES*  AID  — 
THIRD  REGIMENT — FLAG  PRESENTATION — THE  TENTH  AND 
ELEVENTH — FROST  AND  CHAMBERLIN — ARMY  LIFE— NOTABLE 
ESCAPES— THE  LAST  GUN — SOLDIERS*  MONUMENT— WAR  AGAIN 
— COMPANY  D. 


PREPARING    FOR    WAR 

While  our  people  were  in  the  quiet  of  Sunday  morning  wor- 
ship, April  14,  1861,  the  community  was  startled  by  a  telegram 
announcing  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter.  On  the  15th  of  April  President 
Lincoln  called  for  75,000  troops,  of  which  the  State  of  Vermont 
should  furnish  one  regiment. 

It  happened  that  at  this  time  the  Governor  of  the  State  was 
Erastus  Fairbanks,  thus  it  also  happened  that  the  first  official  docu- 
ment of  the  war  in  Vermont  or  in  any  other  state,  was  penned  and 
issued  in  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury,  the  same  day.  It  read  as  fol* 
lows  : — 


274  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

STATE    OF    VERMONT 
BY   HIS   EXCELLENCY   THE    GOVERNOR.      A    PROCLAMATION 

Whereas  an  armed  rebellion  against  the  government  of  the 
United  States  exists,  the  object  of  which  is  to  subvert  and  revo- 
lutionize the  government :  And,  whereas,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  thro  the  Secretary  of  War,  has  made  a  requisition 
upon  me  for  a  regiment  of  men  for  immediate  service,  to  which 
requisition  I  have  responded  by  issuing  the  proper  orders  to  the 
Adjutant  and  Inspector  General : 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Erastus  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Vermont,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  me  by  the  Consti- 
tution, do  hereby  issue  my  Proclamation  for  convening  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  an  extra  session ;  and  I  do  hereby  summon  the 
members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  to  meet  to- 
gether in  their  respective  Chambers  at  Montpelier  together  with 
the  officers  of  the  two  houses,  on  Tuesday  the  twenty-third  day 
of  April,  instant,  at  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting 
measures  for  organizing,  arming  and  equipping  the  Militia  of  the 
State,  and  for  co-operating  effectually  with  the  General  Govern- 
ment in  suppressing  insurrection  and  executing  the  laws. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  State  at  St.  Johns- 
bury,  this  fifteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-one,  and  of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States  the  Eighty  Fifth. 

Erastus  Fairbanks. 
By  the  Governor,  Geo.  A.  Merrill 
Secretary  of  Civil  and  Military  Affairs. 

That  the  spirit  of  the  Governor  was  intensely  moved  appears 
in  his  Address  to  the  General  Assembly,  every  word  of  which 
also  reflected  the  sentiment  of  the  men  of  Vermont. 

"The  enormity  of  this  rebellion  is  heightened  by  the  consid- 
eration that  no  valid  excuse  exists  for  it.  The  history  of  the 
civilized  world  does  not  furnish  an  instance  where  a  revolution 
was  attempted  for  such  slight  cause  ;  no  act  of  oppression,  no 
attempted   or   threatened   invasion  of  the  rights  of  the  revolted 


WAR  275 

states  has  existed,  but  the  principle  has  been  recognized  and  ob- 
served that  the  right  of  each  and  every  state  to  regulate  its 
domestic  institutions  should  remain  inviolate."     *     * 

"It  is  devoutly  to  be  hoped  that  the  mad  ambition  of  seces- 
sion leaders  may  be  restrained  and  the  impending  sanguinary 
conflict  averted.  *  *  The  United  States  Government  must  be 
sustained  and  the  rebellion  suppressed  at  whatever  cost  of  men 
and  treasure.  May  that  Divine  Being  who  rules  among  the  na- 
tions and  directs  the  affairs  of  men  interpose  by  his  merciful 
Providence  and  restore  to  us  again  the  blessings  of  peace  under 
the  aegis  of  our  National  Constitution." 

The  Legislature  responded  promptly  and  liberally ;  placed  a 
million  of  dollars  at  the  Governor's  disposal,  and  before  the  regu- 
lar session  of  October  had  convened,  six  regiments  had  been 
raised  and  equipped,  also  two  companies  of  sharp  shooters  and  a 
squadron  of  cavalry. 

PATRIOTIC    RALLY 

On  Tuesday,  16th  of  April,  the  day  after  the  President's 
Proclamation,  St.  Johnsbury  Town  Hall  was  filled  to  overflowing 
in  a  patriotic  rally,  presided  over  by  Hon.  A.  G.  Chadwick.  The 
Proclamations  of  President  Lincoln  and  Gov.  Fairbanks  were  read, 
stirring  addresses  were  made  and  resolutions  unanimously  adopt- 
ed pledging  support  to  the  government  and  devotion  to  the  Flag 
of  the  Union.  Friday  evening,  April  19,  there  was  a  patriotic 
Band  Concert  with  spirited  rendering  of  national  airs  and  speeches 
to  fit  the  occasion.  Monday  evening,  April  22,  another  rally  was 
held ;  addresses  were  made  by  Hon.  Chas.  S.  Dana,  Chairman, 
by  Judge  Poland  and  the  Governor,  after  which  seventy  men  gave 
their  names  in  writing  as  volunteers  for  military  service.  Indi- 
viduals pledged  $1700  for  equipments  and  supplies,  also  thirty 
revolvers,  and  the  Fairbanks  Company  appropriated  $2000  for  the 
families  of  enlisted  men.  The  Center  Village  raised  a  separate 
fund  of  several  hundred  dollars. 

Of  the  70  men  who  volunteered  that  evening  the  following 
were  in  active  service  at  the  front : — 


276 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Henry  G.  Ely 
Fianklin  Belknap 

D.  C.  Haviland 
Oliver  W.  Heyer 
Hiram  Hanscom 

E.  P.  Warner 
John  S.  Kilby 


Charles  I,.  Paddock 
A.  E.  Worthen 
Charles  Hodgdon 
John  P.  Eddy 
William  E.  Parish 
A.  O.  Kidder 
Albert  J.  Ayer 
William  Norris 


John  W.  Ramsay 
Curtis  R.  Crossman 
Thomas  Bishop 
C.  R.  J.  Kellum 
John  Green 
A.  F.  Felch 
C.  F,  Spaulding 
A.  C.  Armington 


Henry  C.  Newell 
Samuel  W.  Hall 
Orren  Chase 
Fred  E-  Carpenter 
John  H.  Hutchinson 
William  I,.  Jackson 
Carlton  Felch 


On  Saturday  of  the  same  week,  April  27,  a  Ladies'  Aid  As- 
sociation was  organized  at  the  Town  Hall  with  upwards  of  150 
members,  for  such  aid  and  comfort  as  they  might  render  to  the 
soldiers  and  to  the  cause.  Among  the  resolutions  at  that  time 
adopted  was  the  following  : — 

"Whereas,  our  citizens  and  friends  have  offered  themselves  to  endure 
the  toils  and  hardships  of  war,  therefore,  we  will  consider  all  our  time  and 
energies  consecrated  to  the  work  of  fitting  them  for  their  service  ;  also,  Re- 
solved, that  in  consideration  of  the  need  of  strict  economy  to  supply  the 
necessities  of  our  Country,  we,  the  ladies  of  St.  Johnsbury,  will  retrench  our 
individual  expenses  and  will  purchase  during  the  coming  season  only  calico 
or  low  priced  muslin  for  dresses  unless  for  some  special  reason  other  material 
should  be  required.  We  will  also  observe  the  same  economy  in  all  our  ap- 
parel, laying  aside  costly  gloves  and  purchasing  plain  bonnets  and  no  un- 
necessary articles  whatever." 

THE    THIRD    REGIMENT 


Military  activity  began  to  appear  on  our  streets  ;  Hon.  C.  S. 
Dana  was  appointed  recruiting  officer  ;  Col.  Hyde  of  Hyde  Park, 
a  West  Point  man,  drilled  100  men  day  time  and  evenings.  St. 
Johnsbury  was  fixed  on  as  rendezvous  for  the  Third '  Vermont 
Regiment,  which  now  began  to  muster  on  the  Fair  Grounds,  in 
Camp  Baxter,  so  named  from  the  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General 
Baxter.  Instead  of  tents  for  shelter  the  main  building  on  the 
grounds  was  enlarged  to  a  length  of  340  feet,  furnished  with  three 
tiers  of  bunks  for  1000  men.  Dining  tables  ran  thro  the  center  of 
the  building,  and  a  reservoir  was  built  for  spring  water  from  the 
neighboring  hillside.  There  was  also  a  building  put  up  for  the 
culinary  department,  another  for  hospital  service,  and  the  Camp 
Baxter  Post  Office  was  installed,  From  this  office  after  the  Regi- 
ment was  made  up,  more  than  300  letters  besides  newspapers 
were  mailed  in  one  day.      Some  one  remarked  that  two-thirds  of 


WAR  277 

this  mail  matter  was  addressed  to  Nellie,  Susie,  Katie,  Jennie, 
etc.,  indicating  a  good  number  of  sweethearts  left  behind  among 
the  hills. 

Ladies  of  the  town  did  much  for  the  cheer  and  comfort  of  the 
Camp.  '  'Thanks  to  the  Ladies  for  the  profusion  of  beautiful 
bouquets.  The  fragrant  captives  from  garden  and  bower  are  the 
more  welcome  from  the  fact  that  roses  are  seldom  dropped  in  the 
pathway  of  the  soldier."  One  of  the  Vergennes  Company  wrote 
"To  find  such  a  large  and  beautiful  place  nestled  among  the  fertile 
hills  of  northern  Vermont  was  a  matter  of  surprise  ;  but  the  sub- 
stantial bounty  provided  for  us  by  the  Ladies  of  St.  Johnsbury  is 
what  might  be  expected  of  true  Green  Mountain  Girls."  Flowers, 
fruit,  jellies,  needlework,  books,  periodicals  and  other  miscellany 
were  included  in  the  substantial  bounty  referred  to. 

THE    REGIMENTAL    FLAG 

Among  other  things  the  Ladies  of  St.  Johnsbury  raised 
among  themselves  $100  for  the  purchase  of  materials  which  they 
made  up  into  a  Regimental  Flag.  This  was  sixteen  by  eight  feet 
in  size  and  was  formally  presented  thro  the  hand  of  the  Governor 
on  the  Fourth  of  July.  This  being  the  first  Independence  Day 
after  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  an  intense  patriotic  feeling  was 
manifest  and  throngs  of  people  filled  the  town.  At  sunrise  a 
national  salute  of  34  guns  was  fired  from  the  twelve-pounder  on 
the  high  bluff  south  of  the  Plain  overlooking  Camp  Baxter,  ac- 
companied by  a  half  hour  ringing  of  all  the  bells  of  the  village. 
This  was  repeated  at  noon  and  at  sundown.  There  were  1500 
people  who  came  in  on  the  morning  trains,  and  every  road  into 
the  town  was  thronged  for  miles  with  vehicles  and  men  on  foot, 
till  more  than  ten  thousand  were  assembled  at  the  camp  grounds. 
At  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  the  men  were  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle, 
fronted  by  the  Governor  with  his  staff  and  the  Ladies  who  had  the 
Regimental  Flag. 

"The  scene  was  imposing.  The  long  line  of  soldiers  in  new 
uniforms,  their  arms  glittering  in  the  light  of  an  unclouded  sun ; 
the  vast  concourse  of  people  on  all  sides  filling  the  seats  of  the 
great  amphitheatre  and  occupying  the  windows,  cupola  and  roof 


278  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

of  the  large  building  used  for  barracks,  and  the  surrounding  hills 
densely  packed  with  spectators,  conspired  to  add  to  the  dignity 
and  solemnity  of  the  occasion." 

Col.  Geo.  A.  Merrill  representing  the  Ladies  in  a  graceful 
speech,  delivered  the  Flag  to  Governor  Fairbanks,  who  with  im- 
pressive and  patriotic  words  entrusted  it  to  the  Regiment.  Col. 
Hyde  in  accepting  it,  said — "This  Banner  comes  to  us,  bright, 
unsullied,  perfumed  by  the  touch  of  the  Ladies  of  Vermont.  It 
shall,  with  God's  blessing,  be  returned,  tried  in  battle,  its  folds 
bearing  record  of  deeds  that  you,  Sir,  and  the  citizens  of  Vermont 
shall  be  proud  to  say  were  done  by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys." 

The  Third  Regiment  of  882  men,  and  a  Band  of  24  instru- 
ments was  mustered  into  the  service  July  16,  and  left  for  the  front 
July  24,  in  a  train  of  22  cars.  It  was  a  stalwart  body  of  young 
men.  John  Earle  of  Boston  who  took  measurements  for  the  uni- 
forms, remarked,  "I've  made  uniforms  for  many  officers  and  men 
in  most  of  the  New  England  states,  but  I  never  put  the  tape  on 
to  such  a  set  of  men  as  these,"  whereupon  another  dryly  re- 
marked, "Yes,  with  a  bayonet  in  hand  one  of  'em  could  toss  a 
secessionist  over  a  meeting  house  !"  They  were  amply  supplied 
with  camp  and.  hospital  equipments  and  had  65  large,  well  select- 
ed horses  all  procured  in  Caledonia  and  Orleans  Counties.  Their 
muskets  were  of  superior  long-rifled  English  manufacture  ob- 
tained thro  the  Fairbanks  Company  of  New  York.  The  Rutland 
Herald  stated  that  military  men  competent  to  judge  regarded  the 
Third  Regiment  better  equipped  and  prepared  for  service  than 
any  that  had  yet  left  New  England.  Company  G.  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  had  sixty-six  men;  Lorenzo  Allen,  Captain  ;  John  H.  Hutch- 
inson, First  Lieutenant.  At  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary,  July  16, 
1911,  a  memorial  boulder  was  erected  by  citizens  of  the  town  on 
the  spot  where  these  men  had  been  mustered  in.  At  the  cere- 
mony the  word  of  presentation  to  the  surviving  veterans  was  by 
Edward  T.  Fairbanks,  and  the  stone  was  unveiled  by  Robert  L. 
Stone,  great  grandson  of  Governor  Fairbanks  under  whose  direc- 
tion the  Regiment  was  formed  and  reviewed.  Sixty-four  of  the 
Regiment  were  present,  nine  of  whom  were  still  living  in  St. 
Johnsbury. 


WAR  279 

Between  Sept.  1861  and  April  1865  the  Third  Regiment  was 
in  twenty-eight  engagements,  among  which  were  Antietam, 
Gettysburg,  Wilderness,  Spottslyvania,  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg. 

TENTH  AND  ELEVENTH  REGIMENTS 

Early  in  July  1862,  Edwin  B.  Frost,  a  student  of  medicine  in 
the  office  of  his  brother  Dr.  C.  P.  Frost,  recruited  a  company  of 
100  men  in  this  village,  of  which  he  was  made  Captain,  and 
which  on  September  1,  1862,  was  mustered  into  service  as  Com- 
pany A,  of  the  Tenth  Regiment.  This  Company  was  in  various 
engagements  during  the  two  years  following,  and  in  the  battles  of 
the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  and  Cold  Harbor  met  severe 
losses.  While  leading  his  men  on  a  forlorn  hope  at  Cold  Harbor, 
"Captain  Frost,  with  perfect  self-possession  and  an  example  of 
courage  which  every  true  Green  Mountain  boy  was  anxious  to 
emulate,"  fell  fatally  wounded.  In  this  as  in  all  former  engage- 
ments he  was  ever  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight;  "his  calm,  clear 
commands  could  be  heard  above  the  din  of  battle,  his  tall  figure  in 
plain  sight,  too  conspicuous  a  mark  to  escape  the  keen-eyed 
rebels.  Captain  Frost  was  the  ideal  of  his  Company,  winning  their 
love  by  his  kindness,  ever  looking  after  their  welfare,  attending 
the  sick  with  his  own  hands,  cheering  all  with  a  constant  flow  of 
wit  and  kind  sympathy ;  he  had  declined  promotion,  preferring  to 
remain  with  his  Regiment  to  the  last ;  living  he  was  beloved  and 
dead  he  was  lamented."  His  name  was  adopted  by  the  E.  B. 
Frost  Sons  of  the  Veterans,  organized  in  1881. 

Following  President  Lincoln's  call  for  300,000  men,  George 
E.  Chamberlin  opened  a  recruiting  office  August  1,  1862,  on  the 
Plain  where  in  ten  days'  time  he  raised  a  Company  of  112  men. 
This  Company,  of  which  he  was  Captain,  was  mustered  in  Sep- 
tember 1,  as  Company  A,  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  to  duty  in 
Fort  Lincoln  near  Washington.  Some  days  later  the  ladies  of 
St.  Johnsbury  presented  swords  to  Captain  Chamberlin  and  his 
Lieutenants.  In  accepting  them  he  said — "these  swords  will 
soon  be  unsheathed ;  with  them  we  intend  to  strike  our  blow  in 
crushing  the  monster  Treason ;    and  do  our  part  in  establishing 


280  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  land  of  our  fathers  as  an  undivided  and  perpetual  inheritance 
for  the  generations  to  come." 

Before  the  end  of  September,  the  Eleventh  Regiment  (after- 
wards the  First  Vermont  Heavy  Artillery)  was  on  duty  in  the 
defences  of  Washington,  where,  in  Forts  Lincoln  and  Totten, 
Major  Chamberlin  was  put  in  command.  Here  his  characteristic 
energy  and  discipline,  insistence  on  neatness  and  order,  strict  at- 
tention to  details,  not  only  transformed  the  conditions  in  the 
forts,  but  trained  his  men  for  achievements  which  General  Sedg- 
wick afterward  said  could  not  be  outdone  by  any  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 

On  the  12th  of  May,  1864,  the  Regiment  was  ordered  to  rein- 
force the  depleted  Army  after  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness.  Six 
days  later,  with  the  coolness  and  valor  of  veterans  in  the  field, 
they  led  a  charge  of  the  Vermont  Brigade  at  Spottsylvania. 
Chamberlin  was  commissioned  Lieutenant  Colonel,  June  28,  and 
in  command  of  the  Third  Battalion  led  his  troops  at  the  battles  of 
Cold  Harbor  and  Petersburg.  On  the  22nd  of  August,  while  lead- 
ing a  skirmish  line  he  was  shot — a  shining  mark ;  and  fell  from 
his  horse  mortally  wounded  near  Charlestown,  Va.  The  deep 
feeling  and  solemnity  of  the  assembly  that  filled  the  North  Church 
at  the  funeral  service  some  days  later,  was  one  among  many  in- 
dications of  the  respect  and  honor  in  which  he  was  held  among 
his  fellow  townsmen.  The  Chamberlin  Post  of  the  Grand  Army 
fittingly  carries  the  name  of  the  man  whose  resolute  soldierly 
qualities  and  forceful  command  gave  distinction  to  the  town  he 
represented. 

In  the  early  death  of  Col.  Chamberlin  his  generation  lost  a 
man  of  noble  character  and  exceptional  promise.  He  had  won 
superior  rank  among  his  fellow  students  at  Dartmouth  College 
for  scholarship,  high-minded  manliness  and  executive  ability.  A 
brilliant  career  was  before  him  as  a  lawyer  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis.  Against  the  urgent  representations  of  many  friends  he 
sacrificed  all  other  prospects  under  a  matured  and  profound  con- 
viction of  his  personal  duty  as  a  patriot ;  the  dedication,  it  was, 
unto  death,  of  a  chivalrous  and  gallant  soul.  Vale,  frater,  vale 
ave  at  que  vale! 


WAR  281 

Besides  the  men  from  this  town  in  the  Third,  Tenth  and 
Eleventh  Regiments,  there  were  others  who  served  in  the  Fourth, 
Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth,  Ninth,  Twelfth,  Fifteenth  and  Seventeenth 
Regiments  Infantry ;  also  in  the  First  Regiment  Cavalry,  76  en- 
gagements, the  First  Battery  Light  Artillery,  and  the  Second 
Regiment  Sharpshooters,  in  24  engagements ;  also  a  good  many 
of  St.  Johnsbury  birth  or  residence  among  volunteers  from  other 
states. 

By  vote  of  the  town,  March  7,  1865,  A.  G.  Chadwick,  Esq. 
was  directed  to  prepare  a  St.  Johnsbury  Soldiers'  Record.  This 
he  did  in  a  book  of  215  pages,  published  in  1883,  which  contained 
a  personal  record  of  374  men  of  this  town,  350  of  whom  were  en- 
listed here  and  24  elsewhere.  Some  items  and  incidents  culled 
from  this  Record  are  here  given  as  illustrating  various  experiences 
of  army  life. 

John  W.  Ramsey,  Lieut.  Co.  A.  Third  Regiment  was  the 
first  man  in  town  to  volunteer,  also  the  first  who  was  killed  in 
battle.  He  fell  pierced  by  four  bullets,  within  four  rods  of  the 
enemy's  line,  at  Savage's  Station,  after  being  in  five  former  en- 
gagements ;  269  men  who  fell  in  that  disaster  were  buried  in  the 
Seven  Pines  National  Cemetery  in  1866.  Ramsey  was  tall  and 
powerful,  intensely  patriotic  ;  before  Sumter  was  fired  on  he  had 
raised  a  volunteer  Company  in  this  town,  all  of  whom  afterward 
enlisted,  all  but  one  of  whom  perished  in  the  war. 

The  youngest  of  the  soldier  boys  from  this  town  who  carried 
a  musket,  was  Patrick  Howard,  who  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  Eleventh 
Regiment  at  the  age  of  14  years.  He  had  been  repeatedly  reject- 
ed in  his  determination  to  enlist,  solely  on  the  ground  of  his  age. 
He  insisted  that  he  was  tough  and  strong,  and  that  he  could  en- 
dure fatigue  or  fight  as  well  as  older  men.  His  record  in  the  ser- 
vice justified  this  claim.  He  fought  in  six  battles  and  fell  fatally 
wounded  before  Petersburg  in  June  1864.  His  older  brother  John 
perished  in  Andersonville. 

Willie  Johnson,  drummer  boy  of  the  Third  Regiment, 
enlisted  when  he  was  twelve  years  old.  He  was  a  brave 
resolute  little  fellow  ;  went  with  his  Regiment  thro  the  seven 
days'  campaign  in  the  Peninsula,  and  was  the  only  drummer  in  the 


282  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Division  who  held  on  to  his  drum  and  brought  it  safely  off  in  the 
retreat  to  Harrison's  Landing.  In  recognition  of  this  a  medal  for 
heroic  conduct  was  awarded  him  by  Secretary  of  War  Stanton. 

NOTABLE    ESCAPES 

The  most  remarkable  escape  from  bullets  was  undoubtedly 
that  of  Major  E.  W.  Harrington,  a  man  of  six  feet  four  in  height 
and  some  200  lbs.  weight,  who  for  three  years  carried  the  colors 
of  the  Regiment,  the  Second  Vermont.  For  a  color  bearer  of 
such  proportions  holding  so  exposed  and  perilous  a  position  to 
have  come  safely  through  22  battles  seems  little  short  of  the 
miraculous. 

Some  other  escapes  are  of  interest.  Lafayette  Soper  at  the 
Weldon  railroad  disaster  saved  his  life  by  running  a  gauntlet  of 
musket  balls  that  flew  like  hail  stones  on  either  side  He  went 
thro  14  battles  uninjured  till  at  Petersburg  in  April  1865  while 
capturing  some  of  the  enemy  in  advance  of  his  own  line,  he  was 
hit  by  a  Union  ball  and  lost  his  leg  thereby.  At  Charlestown, 
Va.,  he  fired  150  rounds  of  ball  cartridges  and  at  Fisher's  Hill 
200  rounds. 

Hiram  I.  Gorham,  captured  on  the  Weldon  railroad,  was  sent 
on  to  Georgia,  jumped  the  train  with  F.  J.  Hosmer,  and  ran 
thro  the  woods  toward  the  Blue  Ridge ;  they  were  caught  about 
midnight  and  with  their  arms  bound  together  with  hickory  bark 
were  marched  to  Boone  Jail,  N.  C,  thence  with  40  others  tied  two 
together  they  were  tramped  toward  Andersonville  40  miles  ;  after 
confinement  in  seven  different  prisons  they  were  finally  paroled. 
Sergeant  Gorham  was  in  12  battles  and  twice  wounded. 

Charles  W.  Wilcomb  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness by  a  confederate  who  leveled  his  piece  behind  a  log  and 
fired.  The  ball  passed  thro  his  thigh  and  lodged  in  his  wallet, 
considerably  flattened.  He  lay  on  the  ground  two  days  without 
food ;  then  a  negro  came  along  with  a  chicken  which  he  sold  for  a 
dollar.  After  reaching  the  Union  lines  Wilcomb  was  insensible 
for  three  weeks  from  effects  of  the  wound ;  finally  recovered  and 
rejoined  his  regiment  a  year  later. 


WAR  283 

In  the  second  Bull  Run  battle  a  musket  ball  struck  L.  C. 
Farnham  in  the  right  breast,  passed  thro  the  right  lung  and  went 
out  under  the  shoulder.  He  lay  on  the  field  five  days,  then 
crawled  to  a  stream  of  running  water,  cleansed  the  wound,  rallied 
and  managed  to  reach  Washington  35  miles  distant  on  the  third 
day.  While  lying  on  the  field  his  rations  were  one  hard  tack. 
This  was  in  1862 ;  in  1870  he  was  living  on  his  farm  in  this 
town,  able  to  do  an  average  day's  work  notwithstanding. 

After  seven  engagements  in  the  army,  O.  W.  Heyer  enlisted 
in  the  navy  and  was  on  the  frigate  Wabash  in  the  attack  under 
Dahlgren  on  Fort  Sumter  Aug.  8,  1863  ;  was  captured  and  im- 
prisoned on  Sullivan  Island.  One  night  he  with  two  others  escap- 
ed, crawled  on  hands  and  knees  to  an  inlet,  found  some  boards, 
constructed  a  raft,  and  in  the  darkness  floated  out  to  sea  on  the 
ebb  tide.  They  were  picked  up  by  a  picket  boat  of  the  squadron ; 
after  this  Heyer  on  the  U.  S.  Steamer  Iroquois,  made  49  different 
ports  on  a  cruise  around  the  world. 

Geo.  W.  Bonett  was  in  31  battles  and  twice  wounded ;  at 
Petersburg  he  with  two  orderlies  captured  an  entire  Company  of 
the  enemy;  in  response  to  his  demand  the  Captain  surrendered 
his  sword  and  gun.  At  Spottsylvania  the  Third  Regiment  was 
ordered  upon  a  breast  work  of  logs.  Shots  from  a  sharp-shooter 
who  could  not  be  located  picked  off  25  men,  each  bullet  hitting 
the  victim  in  the  center  of  the  forehead.  The  twenty-fifth  shot 
which  killed  Corporal  Norris  came  apparently  from  a  point  where 
two  logs  jutted  together.  Major  Bonett  ordered  eight  men  to  aim 
at  that  spot  and  fire  simultaneously.  This  they  did  and  no  more 
men  were  hit  in  the  forehead. 

Edward  F.  Griswold  after  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor  and 
Petersburg  battles  was  captured  on  the  Weldon  railroad  and  con- 
fined in  Libby  Prison.  On  transit  from  here  to  Georgia,  while 
being  marched  thro  a  field  in  Virginia,  he  escaped  in  a  clump  of 
bushes  and  reached  the  bank  of  a  river  which  he  forded  July  1, 
and  traveling  by  night  only  reached  Millboro  in  seventeen  days. 
Here  he  was  discovered  and  pursued,  but  outran  the  enemy  and 
came  to  a  farm  house  where  were  some  friendly  negroes.  Pres- 
ently two  men  walked  in,  by  whom  he  was  recaptured  and  taken 


284  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

back  again  to  Richmond,  where  he  remained  a  prisoner  till  his 
parole  in  Sept.  1864. 

Capt.  Pearl  D.  Blodgett's  left  hand  was  shattered  during  a 
desperate  charge  at  Cold  Harbor.  He  was  reported  dead,  and  so 
considered,  till  Horace  Fairbanks  found  him  alive  but  in  a  critical 
condition.  With  his  right  hand  which  was  uninjured  he  afterward 
served  this  town  nineteen  years  as  Town  Clerk  and  twelve  years 
as  Treasurer. 

Horace  K.  Ide  of  the  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  was  in  three 
years'  service  on  the  field,  twice  wounded,  twice  a  prisoner  in 
Libby  and  on  Belle  Isle,  six  times  promoted,  becoming  Brevet 
Major  U.  S.  V.  He  was  in  42  engagements.  In  April  1862  when 
captured  by  Mosby's  gang,  he  escaped,  walked  two  days  till  he 
got  inside  the  Union  lines.  In  Oct.  1863,  a  bullet  ran  thro  him 
l-16th  of  an  inch  below  the  main  artery  of  the  arm  ;  the  wound 
was  burnt  out  with  acid.  His  regiment  was  in  eight  weeks'  con- 
tinuous fighting  in  the  summer  of  1864  ;  at  one  time  when  the 
Colonel  was  wounded,  two  officers  while  trying  to  carry  him  off 
the  field  were  shot ;  no  others  volunteering  Major  Ide  jumped 
forward  and  brought  him  safely  in.  He  was  in  all  the  fights  of 
Sheridan's  army  till  the  last,  near  Appomattox.  In  1882  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  Quarter  Master  General  of  the  Vermont 
militia. 

Alexander  G.  Hawes  was  one  of  the  pioneers  who  went  to 
Kansas  in  1856  to  resist  the  introduction  of  slavery  in  to  that  ter- 
ritory. During  the  sack  of  Lawrence  that  year,  the  border  ruffians 
destroyed  the  office  of  the  Herald  of  Freedom  which  Hawes  was 
editing.  He  participated  in  the  Lawrence  fights  ;  was  one  of 
John  Brown's  posse  at  Ossawatomie  and  Black  Pack,  and  narrowly 
escaped  while  executing  important  enterprises  in  the  anti-slavery 
conflicts.  In  1861,  within  an  hour  of  the  call  for  volunteers,  he 
raised  a  military  company,  the  first  in  Southern  Illinois,  which  he 
reported  to  Gov.  Yeats.  He  served  nearly  four  years  in  the  Civil 
War,  was  in  40  battles,  including  Fort  Henry,  Donelson,  Shiloh, 
Corinth  and  the  Atlanta  campaign  under  Sherman.  He  was  three 
times  wounded ;  at  Shiloh  he  barely  escaped  death ;  while  bullets 
were  flying  like  hail  around  him  a  ball  went  thro  his  shoulder,  but 


WAR  285 

he  rallied  in  time  to  go  in  to  battle  at  Corinth.  Col.  Hawes  had 
the  longest  military  record  of  any  man  from  our  town,  viz.  from 
1856  to  1865 ;  he  was  repeatedly  complimented  on  the  field  for 
courage  and  skill. 

THE    LAST   GUN 

The  tension  of  four  years'  suspense  and  distress  was  lifted 
by  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox,  April  9,  1865. 
Enthusiasm  long  pent  up  broke  loose  with  an  outburst  such  as 
our  town  had  never  known  before.  Muskets  and  cannon,  church 
bells  and  steam  whistles,  gongs,  drums,  horns,  dinner  bells  and 
whatever  else  could  make  a  noise  were  rioting  together  in  wild 
demonstrations  of  joy. 

The  cavalry  company  under  Capt.  Spalding  came  out  mount- 
ed in  force  ;  a  procession  formed  at  the  Town  Hall ;  in  the  midst 
of  it  was  seen  the  coffin  of  the  Confederacy  draped  with  the  stars 
and  bars,  borne  by  four  young  men  and  followed  by  a  company  of 
young  women  waving  the  stars  and  stripes.  At  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Central  streets  the  coffin  was  lowered  into  a  pit,  with 
triumphal  singing  of  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  and  Glory  Halle- 
lujuah.  Capt.  Harrington  of  East  Village  led  the  militia,  who  per- 
formed evolutions  and  discharged  25  rounds  of  ammunition  from 
their  guns. 

In  the  evening  200  buildings  were  illuminated  making  "the 
grandest  sight  our  little  town  ever  witnessed."  Union  Block  and 
the  Court  House  displayed  brilliant  lights  ;  at  Pinehurst  a  row  of 
gas  jets  blazed  the  entire  length  of  the  ridge-pole  ;  red,  white  and 
blue  lights  flashed  out  from  Underclyffe ;  fire  companies  with 
band  and  torch  lights  paraded  the  streets ;  four  horses  brought  up 
the  hose  carriage  finely  decorated  and  illuminated.  Huge  bon- 
fires were  kindled  on  Main  street  and  Railroad  street  while  from 
the  hills  on  either  side  cannon  were  booming.  At  8  o'clock  the 
old  democratic  gun  on  Harris  Hill,  having  seven  pounds  of  pow- 
der rammed  into  it  with  a  wad  of  damp  straw,  burst  into  frag- 
ments ;  strange  to  say  not  a  man  was  hurt.  It  was  the  end  of 
the  war,  the  last  gun  had  been  fired ;  from  this  time  on 
" — the  war  drum  throbb'd  no  longer,  and 
the  battle  flags  were  furl'd." 


286  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

THE    SOLDIERS'  MONUMENT 

"These  monuments  of  manhood  strong  and  high, 
Do  more  than  forts  or  battleships  to  keep 
Our  dear-bought  liberty." 

Van  Dyke. 

At  a  special  Town  Meeting,  June  23,  1866,  a  Committee  ap- 
pointed at  the  previous  March  meeting,  reported  a  plan  for  the 
erection  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  men  who  lost  their 
lives  in  defence  of  the  country  during  the  Civil  War.  It  was 
thereupon  voted  to  appropriate  a  sum  not  exceeding  $10,000,  for 
this  purpose.  The  Committee  at  once  communicated  with  Mr. 
Larkin  G.  Mead  of  Florence,  Italy,  who  at  the  time  was  on  a 
visit  to  his  native  state  of  Vermont.  He  came  to  St.  Johnsbury 
and  in  due  time  a  contract  was  made  with  him  for  a  statue  in 
Italian  marble,  executed  in  Florence,  to  be  delivered  at  New 
York  City  for  the  sum  of  $5000.  A  contract  was  also  made  with 
Mr.  Peter  B.  Laird,  for  a  granite  base  and  pedestal  from  a  de- 
sign by  Architect  Grebble  of  Philadelphia.  This  was  erected  in 
the  spring  of  1868;  in  August  the  statue  "America"  arrived  and 
was  elevated  to  position  on  the  pedestal,  veiled  with  flags. 

On  the  20th  of  August  1868,  the  inauguration  took  place  with 
imposing  ceremonies.  A  procession,  led  by  Gilmore's  Band  of 
Boston,  went  through  the  principal  streets;  besides  the  various 
organizations  in  the  line,  there  was  a  car  drawn  by  six  horses  in 
which  36  girls  dressed  in  white  represented  the  several  states  of 
the  Union  ;  another  car  canopied  with  evergreen,  in  which  sat  a 
woman  personating  Peace ;  carriages  carrying  disabled  soldiers 
and  others. 

At  Monument  Square  words  of  greeting  were  spoken  by 
Hon.  C.  S.  Dana,  President  of  the  day.  The  names  inscribed  on 
the  four  sides  of  the  monument,  80  in  number,  were  read  by 
Major  Edward  D.  Redington  ;  Mr.  Horace  Fairbanks,  Chairman 
of  the  Monument  Committee,  announced  the  completion  of  the 
work,  and  unveiled  the  statue.  The  vigorous  and  prolonged  ap- 
plause of  the  multitude  attested  their  appreciation  and  enthusiasm. 
The  36  gins  laid  at  the  feet  of  "America"  a  floral  offering  as  from 
each  state  of  the  now  reunited  Republic.     Salutes  were  fired  from 


WAR 


287 


guns  that  were  manned  under  direction  of  Capt.  Edward  F.  Gris- 
wold  of  the  Vermont  Artillery.  Addresses  were  made  by  Gov. 
Dillingham  and  Hon.  L.  P.  Poland. 

The  expense  of  this  memorial  was  $8892.46.  It  is  planted  on 
a  commanding  spot  four  rods  north  of  the  Court  House  and  in- 
scribed : — 

IN   HONOR   OF 

THE    ST.   JOHNSBURY   VOLUNTEERS 

WHO   SACRIFICED   THEIR    LIVES 

IN    DEFENCE    OF    THE    UNION 


Geo.  E.  Chamberlin 
Edwin  B.  Frost 
Edwin  J.  Morrill 
J.  W.  D.  Carpenter 
John  W.  Ramsay 
Dustin  S.  Walbridge 
Lorenzo  D.    Farnham 
John  S.  Kilby 
Orange  S.  Lynn 
Darwin  J.  Wright 
Benjamin  Waldron 
Erastus  M.  Dunbar 
Lanson  E.  Aldrich 
John  N.  Copeland 
Michael  Foley 
Albert  F.  Felch 
Ephraim  P.   Howard 
Nathan  P.  Jay 
George  T.  Kasson 
William  Norris 


Harrison  W.  Varney 
Henry  C.  Voodry 
Charles  W.  Hill 
Orange  H.  Ayer 
Joseph  S.  Archer 
Leonard  N.  Bishop 
Simeon  S.  Bean 
Joseph  Baker 
Rozerne  E.  Bacon 
Stephen  Currier 
Franklin  Caswell 
Oscar  H.  Curamings 
Lewis  A.  Clark 
Felix  Cunneuille 
Jacob  Chapman 
Royal  G.  Mansfield 
Samuel  W.  Marden 
Hiram  T.  Page 
Elisha  S.  Palmer 
Charles  A.  Picard 


Solon  W.  Pierce 
Ira  L-  Powers 
Geo.  N.  Richardson 
Martin  Rosebrook 
William  J.  Rogers 
Albert  S.  Stockwell 
Wm.  H.  Sherman 
Edwin  W.  Stewart 
Joseph  St.  Pierre 
Paschal  P.  Shores 
Andrew  Sturgeon 
George  Smithson 
Theron  W.  Scruton 
Davis  Towle 
Whipple  A.  West 
Alfred  Ward 
Henry  C.  Wright 
James  Donnell 
Nathan  L-  Davis 
Julius  Dupluse 


John  Donovan 
Alvin  Duff 
Denison  Day 
Geo.  L-  Fairchild 
Samuel  Forrest 
Silas  Forrest 
Edward  French 
John  Green 
Chas.  J.  Goodnough 
Russell  A.  Hutchins 
William  Hannet 
Obed  S.  Hatch 
Oscar  F.  Hayward 
Orville  W.  Hutchinson 
Abel  W.  Hawkins 
Patrick  Howard 
John  Howard 
Geo.  F.  rtarroun 
Thomas  Kidder 
Daniel  S.  Lee 


The  statue,  facing  the  west,  rises  seven  and  a  half  feet  above 
the  pedestal,  which  is  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  A  more 
graceful  and  artistic  figure  in  marble  is  seldom  seen  ;  it  fitly  and 
adequately  symbolizes  the  dignity  of  the  Republic,  looking  out  as 
into  future  years  with  calm  poise  and  prophetic  eye.  Around  it 
is  paid  the  yearly  tribute  of  remembrance  of  the  dead  on  Memo- 
rial Day  ;  on  either  side,  as  a  reminder  of  sanguinary  fields 
whose  names  are  graven  on  the  granite,  are  planted  the  two  Par- 
rot cannon  obtained  by  Gen.  W.  W.  Grout  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment in  1899.  The  town  of  St.  Johnsbury  paid  $44,025  in  boun- 
ties to  her  soldiers. 


288  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

CHAMBERLIN    POST   G.    A.    R. 

This  body  was  among  the  few  pioneer  Posts  of  the  country, 
organized  April  10,  1868,  in  the  second  year  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.  At  its  fortieth  anniversary  in  1908,  a  historical 
address  was  given  by  Capt.  E.  L.  Hovey,  from  which  the  con- 
densed material  of  this  paragraph  is  made  up. 

The  Post,  named  in  honor  of  Lieut.-Col.  Geo.  E.  Chamberlin, 
had  eleven  charter  members ;  Capt.  P.  D.  Blodgett,  first  Com- 
mander, was  at  a  later  period  elected  State  Department  Command- 
er. The  highest  membership  was  208  in  1889.  About  one  third 
of  the  comrades  were  living  at  the  fortieth  year,  the  average  age 
being  sixty-eight.  The  Post  has  done  much  to  promote  a  spirit  of 
patriotism  and  good  citizenship,  and  has  received  many  tokens  of 
favor  from  the  public.  Its  hall  has  been  adorned  with  gifts  of 
life-sized  portraits,  war  pictures,  maps,  a  valuable  library  and  many 
miscellaneous  articles,  including  a  costly  volume  for  personal  life 
record  of  the  members.  In  1886,  Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery  As- 
sociation presented  the  Post  with  a  large  burial  lot,  on  which  it 
erected  a  substantial  monument  surmounted  by  a  figure  in  mili- 
tary uniform.  Having  received  the  gift  of  two  Parrot  guns  from 
the  War  Department,  thro  the  efforts  of  General  Grout,  the  Post 
raised  about  $100  from  individuals  and  mounted  them  on  Monu- 
ment Square  in  1899.  The  Post  celebrated  the  Fourth  of  July 
1893,  by  addresses  in  Music  Hall,  two  members  being  present 
who  had  passed  their  ninety-third  birthday,  viz.  Maj.  Allen 
Spaulding  and  Loren  W.  Young  who  enlisted  at  the  age  of  58. 
The  Chicago  Tribune  was  not  able  to  find  any  other  Post  in  the 
country  that  could  match  this  record  of  longevity  ;  some  had  one 
but  none  had  two  such  veterans.  For  29  years  the  Post  has  ar- 
ranged suitable  public  observances  of  Memorial  Day,  toward  the 
expense  of  which  the  town  has  uniformly  devoted  $150.  Many 
eminent  orators  have  contributed  to  the  importance  of  these  occa- 
sions. Three  war  dramas  have  been  presented  by  the  veterans 
to  crowded  houses  in  Music  Hall  for  three  and  four  evenings  each. 
In  1885  there  was  prepared  with  the  aid  of  the  Woman's  Relief 
Corps  a  Fair  that  continued  for  a  week,  with  receipts  of  $2000. 
At  the  address  of  Gen.  John  A.  Logan  in  Music  Hall,  1300  tickets 


WAR  289 

were  sold;  the  General  was  unwilling  to  accept  any  compensa- 
tion, and  remarked  that  if  he  should  find  himself  possessed  of  any 
money  not  accounted  for  after  arriving  in  New  York,  he  should 
send  it  back  to  the  Chamberlin  Post  Woman's  Relief  Corps.  This 
Auxiliary  was  organized  November  21,  1884  ;  by  its  cordial  and 
business  like  methods  it  greatly  re-enforced  the  social  and  pa- 
triotic work  of  the  Post,  and  for  several  years  held  a  record  as 
the  banner  Corps  of  the  state  in  charitable  work.  The  E.  B. 
Frost  Camp  No.  18  of  the  Sons  of  the  Veterans  was  organized  in 
1881. 

OFF    FOR   WAR   WITH    SPAIN 

The  action  of  Congress  on  April  19,  1898,  declaring  Cuba  in- 
dependent was  the  signal  for  war  with  Spain.  Four  days  later  a 
war  meeting  was  called  in  the  Town  Hall  at  the  instance  of  Capt. 
Ellis  of  Company  D.  A  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly 
met  on  the  fifth  of  May  and  on  the  following  day  Company  D 
started  off  for  military  duty.  Promptly  at  8  o'clock  in  the  fore- 
noon the  boys  were  in  position,  and  under  escort  of  Major  Bow- 
man with  his  aides  and  various  organizations,  they  marched  thro 
the  principal  streets  of  the  village.  This  parade,  which  was  one 
of  the  finest  for  many  years,  was  in  the  following  order :  Major 
Bowman  Chief  Marshal ;  St.  Johnsbury  Police,  J.  H.  Thompson, 
Chief;  St.  Johnsbury  Band,  22  pieces  ;  Palestine  Commandery, 
K.  T.  39  men;  Canton  Crescent,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  26  ;  Vermont  Divi- 
sion K.  P.,  20  ;  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  60  ;  Harmony  Band, 
16  pieces  ;  Board  of  Trade,  16 ;  Chamberlin  Post,  42  ;  Company 
D  Vermont  National  Guards,  85  ;  Drum  Corps,  5  pieces ;  St. 
Johnsbury  Academy,  82 ;  L.  N.  Smythe,  E.  O.  Leonard,  Chas.  H. 
Horton,  Assistant  Marshals. 

From  the  platform  erected  at  Depot  Square  brief  addresses 
were  made.  Mrs.  P.  F.  Hazen  brought  greetings  and  good  speed 
from  the  D.  A.  R.  and  the  women  of  St.  Johnsbury,  "who  are 
proud  and  glad  to  give  to  the  heroes  of  '98  the  same  help  their 
grandmothers  gave  to  the  heroes  of  '76."  Hon.  W.  P.  Stafford 
gave  salutations  from  the  Board  of  Trade,  by  which  this  demon- 
stration was  prepared.     As  the  train  pulled  out,  torpedoes  went 


290  TOWN   OF   ST.   JOHNSBURY 

off,  bands  played  and  cheers  from  5000  spectators  went  up  for  the 
boys  in  blue  now  off  for  the  scenes  of  war. 

The  Captain  of  Company  D  was  Henry  W.  Ellis  and  C.  A. 
Celley  was  First  Lieutenant.  They  were  ordered  to  Chickamauga, 
but  before  they  reached  the  front,  the  Spaniards  were  defeated  and 
the  war  was  over.  On  the  4th  September,  1898,  the  Company  return- 
ed ;  5000  people  were  at  the  station  as  the  train  pulled  in,  with  torpe- 
does, cheers  and  welcomes.  They  were  escorted  by  the  Band, 
Chamberlin  Post  and  the  Boys'  Brigade  to  the  Armory  on  Central 
street  where  a  dinner  was  served.  On  the  27th  October  a  recep- 
tion was  given  the  boys  at  the  Museum,  followed  by  a  banquet 
with  music  and  addresses  at  the  Armory.  Major  Townshend 
came  on  and  mustered  them  out  of  the  service,  leaving  with  them 
about  $8000  cash. 

Tho  the  boys  of  Company  D  had  no  opportunity  to  test  their 
mettle  on  the  Spaniards,  their  day  of  battle  came  in  February, 
1908,  when  the  Twenty  Third  Street  Team  of  New  York  went 
down  before  them  in  basket  ball,  21  to  34 ;  also  the  A.  A.  Team 
of  East  Boston,  13  to  39. 


XXIII 


FOR  PROTECTION 


TEMPERANCE  SOCIETIES — EVANS  BAR — EIGHTY  SEATS  WANTED — 
COLD  WATER  ARMY — JUVENILE  MILITANTS — OTHER  SOCIETIES 
— TOWN  AGENCY — LOCAL  OPTION — TEN  YEAR  VOTES  ON  LI- 
CENSE— FIRE  ENGINES — PARADES  AND  TESTS — TORRENT  ON 
A  TOUR — PROSPECTING  FOR  WATER — A  WELL  AND  A  RAM — 
AQUEDUCT — VILLAGE  WATER  WORKS. 


COMBINING    FOR   TEMPERANCE 

Of  the  pioneer  Temperance  Society  of  1828,  mention  has 
been  made  on  page  216.  The  turning  of  the  tide  in  popular  senti- 
ment began  to  be  manifest  at  this  time,  but  the  progress  of 
reform  was  necessarily  slow.  In  1832  there  was  at  least  one  dis- 
tillery doing  business  in  the  town,  probably  more  than  one.  In 
1837  it  was  computed  that  not  less  than  1000  gallons  of  liquor 
were  consumed  in  this  town  annually.  Five  years  later  occurred 
a  significant  incident.  Horace  Evans,  who  during  the  twenties 
had  owned  and  run  a  distillery  at  the  Center  Village,  had  now 
moved  to  Danville  where  be  was  keeping  a  hotel.  On  the  8th  of 
February,  1842,  he  made  the  following  announcement : — 

"The  subscriber  has  this  day  shut  up  his  Bar  and  banished  from  his 
house  all  that  intoxicates.  He  intends  henceforth  to  keep  a  good  Temper- 
ance House.  I  do  this  not  from  motives  of  gain  but  because  I  am  convinced 
that  the  traffic  in  ardent  spirits  is  ruinous  to  the  best  interests  and  a  disgrace 
to  any  civilized  community.  I  invite  former  customers  and  all  friends  of 
Temperance  to  sustain  me  in  this  attempt ;  they  will  find  me  ever  ready  to 
furnish  everything  that  really  contributes  to  the  comfort  of  the  traveler." 


292  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Apparently  Mr.  Evans  did  succeed  in  his  attempt ;  nine  years 
later  he  returned  to  St.  Johnsbury,  known  then  as  the  proprietor 
of  the  Danville  Temperance  Hotel  ;  he  bought  the  Passumpsic 
House  recently  built  on  Railroad  street  and  conducted  the  same 
till  1854. 

The  St.  Johnsbury  North  Temperance  Society  was  formed  at  the 
Center  Village  in  1830,  but  no  record  is  found  of  its  doings. 

The  Caledonia  County  Young  Men's  Temperance  Association, 
organized  in  this  town  in  1836  had  an  iron-clad  pledge  and  a  mem- 
bership of  vigorous  working  young  men.  At  the  annual  meeting 
of  1839,  held  in  the  Meeting  House  on  the  Plain,  the  interest  and 
attendance  was  such  that  something  like  eighty  persons  were  un- 
able to  secure  seats.  This  Association  had  an  active  life  of 
more  than  fifty  years,  its  semi-centennial  was  observed  here  in 
1886 ;  after  the  State  prohibitory  law  was  in  force,  from  1853,  it 
had  by  common  consent  the  nomination  of  a  candidate  for 
County  Commissioner ;  this  important  responsibility  it  met  with 
uniform  sagacity  and  fairness. 

7 he  St.  Johnsbury  Town  Temperance  Society  may  have  been  a 
rejuvenation  of  the  original  Society  of  1828.  It  was  set  going 
in  May  1839,  at  the  Universalist  Church,  Center  Village,  fifty  men 
of  the  town  having  signed  the  call  for  it.  The  pledge  adopted 
at  that  time  is  still  in  existence,  in  the  handwriting  of  Hiram  H. 
Ide  the  Secretary.     John  Armington  was  President. 

The  Cold  Water  Army  came  on  to  the  field  May  24,  1842. 
This  juvenile  army  had  a  more  or  less  militant  career  for  47 
years.  It  began  with  134  enlisted  boys  and  girls  who  used  to 
parade  with  banners  and  music,  singing  along  the  streets  the 
familiar  refrain, 

H  So  here  we  pledge  perpetual  hate 
To  all  that  can  intoxicate." 

Besides  the  Plain  Division  there  were  others  in  the  different 
villages.  On  the  Fourth  of  July  1843,  these  all  rendezvoused  on 
the  Green  at  the  head  of  the  Plain,  where  a  spacious  bower  had 
been  erected  with  seats  for  1200  people,  bright  with  decorations 
and  flags.     At  noon  the  companies  from  the  East  and  Center  vil- 


FOR  PROTECTION  293 

lages  arrived  in  carriages  covered  with  evergreen,  joined  their 
comrades  of  the  Plain,  and  all  together  800  in  number  formed 
under  their  banners  and  marched,  led  by  the  Band  to  the  Bower. 
Here  were  songs,  addresses  and  dialogues,  then  the  collation  with 
plenty  of  cold  water  showered  out  from  the  sky  ;  and  afterward 
more  formal  exercises  held  in  the  Meeting  House. 

An  incident  not  set  down  on  the  program  of  the  day,  was  the 
arrival  of  a  large,  decorated  cake  from  Passumpsic  Village,  bear- 
ing this  inscription — "As  the  Daughters  of  Israel  sang  songs  for 
the  victories  of  the  stripling  David,  so  do  we,  the  Ladies  of  Pas- 
sumpsic, stay  up  the  hands  and  cheer  the  hearts  of  the  young 
Cold  Water  Army  of  St.  Johnsbury ;  for  which  purpose  we  pre- 
sent you  this  token  of  our  regard."  The  cake,  after  a  suitable  vote 
of  thanks,  was  cut  up  and  presented  to  the  revolutionary  veterans 
who  were  present.  The  number  of  people  attending  this  celebra- 
tion was  above  fifteen  hundred.  One  of  the  white  silk  badges 
worn  in  the  East  Village  Division  on  the  parade  that  day  is  now 
in  the  Athenaeum,  presented  by  the  owner  nearly  70  years  after. 

Public  exhibitions  of  the  Cold  Water  Army  were  held  at  in- 
tervals for  many  years.  One  at  the  South  Church,  May  14,  1877 
drew  an  audience  that  packed  the  house ;  240  who  were  enrolled, 
from  six  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  filled  the  front  pews  and  gave 
songs  and  recitations.  Two  years  later,  in  August  1879,  there 
were  255  in  the  parade  on  Main  street  who  followed  the  band  into 
the  Town  Hall  for  the  special  exercises  ;  after  which  they  sat  down 
to  an  appetizing  collation  on  the  grounds  outside.  A  similar  oc- 
casion was  observed  in  the  North  Church  in  1886.  In  October 
1889,  the  old  Cold  Water  Army  was  reorganized  at  the  South 
Church  into  the  Loyal  Temperance  Legion,  which  for  a  term  of 
years  kept  up  the  traditions  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  preceding 
them,  had  pledged  perpetual  hate  to  all  that  can  intoxicate.  After 
a  time  this  order  melted  into  the  Roll  of  Honor  which  was  set 
up  in  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  town. 

The  Sons  of  Temperance.  Excelsior  Division,  No.  34,  was 
instituted  in  1849.  They  took  measures  to  provide  for  public 
meetings  and  lectures  to  be  held  in  the  different  villages.  Wil- 
liam Sanborn,  Beauman  Butler,  Benj.  Morrill  were  a  committee  to 


294  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

carry  out  the  plan.  The  next  year  the  St.  Johnsbury  Division 
led  by  the  Cornet  Band  joined  with  two  others  in  a  union  celebra- 
tion of  the  Fourth  of  July  1850  at  Lyndon.  "Twelve  hundred 
people  repaired  to  a  grove  fanned  by  breezes  from  their  native 
hills  and  with  nature's  tapestry  woven  above  and  around  them." 
The  address  was  given  by  C.  W.  Willard  Esq.,  on  the  origin  and 
aims  of  the  Order,  as  indicated  by  its  motto — Love,  Purity,  Fidel- 
ity. Among  the  post-prandial  sentiments,  No.  15  was  given  by 
Rev.  Wm.  W.  Thayer:  4<  The  Sons  of  Temperance  !  altogether  a 
manly  family ;  we  have  some  acquaintance  with  the  excellent 
Mother  Temperance ;  we  hope  her  interests  will  be  delicately 
handled  by  her  Sons ;  but  where  are  the  Daughters  ?  " 

The  Good  Templars.  A  lodge  of  this  order  called  Harmony, 
No.  17,  was  instituted  about  1864,  in  1882  it  was  reorganized  as 
Hector  Lodge,  with  a  membership  of  144,  and  continued  for  a 
term  of  years,  maintaining  a  hall  and  regular  meetings  conducted 
with  practical  results. 

Eagle  Temple  Temperance  Society  was  instituted  August,  1867, 
and  used  to  meet  weekly  in  the  Engine  House  Hall. 

The  Temperance  Reform  Club  was  organized  in  August,  1876. 
Henry  C.  Belden  Esq.  was  President,  George  D.  Stevens,  Sec- 
retary.    About  80  persons  signed  the  pledge  at  that  time. 

Catholic  Societies.  To  the  Rev.  Father  Boissonnault  and  his 
assistants  the  cause  of  temperance  in  the  town  was  very  greatly 
indebted  during  the  long  period  of  his  ministry  among  us.  His 
church  of  Notre  Dame  was  practically  a  temperance  society. 
Special  organizations  also  were  formed.  In  April,  1889,  the  R.  C. 
Total  Abstinence  Society  enrolled  89  men,  who  with  badges  on 
their  coats  might  be  seen  in  a  body  marching  into  the  church. 
In  1890  was  organized  a  Father  Matthew  Society  with  100  mem- 
bers. In  St.  Aloysius'  parish  some  200  members  were  enrolled  in 
the  Young  Men's  Temperance  Society  in  1896. 

The  Local  Anti-Saloon  League^  auxiliary  to  the  State  League, 
was  formed  in  1900  with  a  membership  of  251. 

Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union.  The  local  branch  was 
organized  here  September  25,  1876,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  in 


FOR  PROTECTION  295 

the  State.  It  has  maintained  a  continuous  and  useful  activity 
since  that  time  ;  the  only  temperance  organization  of  long  stand- 
ing that  has  come  over  from  the  last  century.  Its  guest  and  lead- 
ing speaker  at  the  State  Convention  in  the  North  Church  some 
years  ago  was  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard. 

THE    TOWN   AGENCY 

Under  the  State  prohibitory  system  the  town  agency  came  to 
be  a  serious  problem.  The  amount  of  liquor  dispensed  seemed 
disproportionate  to  the  reasonable  demand  for  medicine.  Heated 
discussion  arose,  and  at  the  March  Meeting  of  1880  a  motion  was 
put  up  to  abolish  the  agency  ;  on  this  the  vote  stood  yea  238,  nay 
284.  Thereupon,  the  agency  being  retained,  a  vote  was  passed 
restricting  sales  to  residents  of  St.  Johnsbnry,  and  requiring  the 
Selectmen  to  publish  weekly  a  sworn  statement  of  the  liquor 
agent  giving  the  name  of  each  purchaser,  the  amount  in  bulk,  the 
price  paid,  for  what  purpose  to  be  used,  and  if  obtained  on  an 
order,  whose  order.  At  the  end  of  the  first  week  the  list  of 
names  published  was  62,  all  but  two  of  whom  had  it  for  medicine  ; 
the  next  week  there  were  69  purchasers  of  whom  all  but  seven  re- 
quired medicine.  It  appeared  that  under  this  publicity  method 
there  had  been  in  two  weeks'  time  a  falling  off  of  forty  per  cent 
in  the  sales  at  the  agency,  also  a  large  increase  in  the  amount  of 
liquor  brought  in  to  the  town.  At  the  next  town  meeting  in  1881, 
the  vote  on  abolishing  the  agency  was  again  taken,  resulting  in 
111  yeas,  153  nays.  This  gave  a  majority  of  42  as  against  46  of 
the  year  before,  but  the  falling  off  of  260  on  the  entire  vote  indi- 
cated a  subsidence  of  interest  on  this  particular  question.  The 
agency  was  continued,  doing  a  more  or  less  unsatisfactory  busi- 
ness until  the  repeal  of  the  prohibitory  law  under  which  it  had 
been  constituted. 

LOCAL   OPTION 

On  the  question  of  regulating  the  traffic  in  intoxicants  the 
General  Assembly  of  1902  passed  Act  number  90,  which  substituted 
local  option  for  state  prohibition.     This  was  made  subject  to  a 


296  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

referendum  ;  the  result  of  which  was  a  state- vote  of  1300  majority 
in  its  favor,  and  local  option  was  therefore  established  as  the  law 
of  the  State.  The  vote  of  Caledonia  County  was  1818  against  the 
new  measure;  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury  gave  292  votes  against 
it  at  the  special  town  meeting  of  February  3,  1903.  The 
new  order  made  the  licensed  saloon  a  possibility  in  the  town  and 
prior  to  the  annual  March  meeting  public  attention  was  called  to 
it.  The  Woman's  Club  of  225  members  sent  out  an  appeal  to 
the  voters  to  protect  the  homes  and  shield  the  children  by  voting 
no-license.  The  signatures  of  168  men  representing  religious, 
educational,  banking,  corporation,  press  and  business  interests, 
practically  all,  said — "we  are  unalterably  opposed  to  the  open 
saloon  in  our  fair  village,  believing  it  to  be  a  menace  to  our  best 
interests,  and  shall  not  only  vote  against  it  at  the  coming 
March  meeting,  but  shall  do  whatever  we  reasonably  can  to  pre- 
serve the  good  name  our  town  has  hitherto  sustained."  The  an- 
nual vote  of  the  town  for  that  and  ensuing  years  is  given  in  the 
following  table  : — 

Year  Yes  No  Maj.  Year  Yes  No  Maj. 

1903  532  672  140  1908  179  621  424 

1904  409  780  371  1909  355  697  342 

1905  134  423  289  1910  387  574  187 

1906  154  580  426  1911  431  583  152 

1907  308  620  312  1912  431  583  152 

Quarantine  prevented  a  legal  vote  in  1912  and  the  figures  of 
the  year  preceeding  held  over.  In  1914  the  total  vote  was  1256, 
of  which  456  for  license,  810  against  it,  a  majority  of  354. 

FIRE    ENGINE    COMPANIES 

The  Franklin  Fire  Company,  the  first  of  which  there  is  record 
in  the  town,  was  organized  in  the  Fairbanks  Village  Schoolhouse 
April  19,  1844.  A  code  of  by-laws  was  adopted  to  which  twenty 
men  signed  their  names.  Foreman,  Noah  Eastman ;  Assistant, 
Mark  C.  Webster  ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Charles  Fairbanks. 
This  Company  continued  till  April  21,  1853,  when  it  was  reorgan- 
ized under  the  name  of 


FOR  PROTECTION  297 

The  Torrent  Fire  Company  No.  i,  Foremen,  A.  P.  Blunt  1853- 
1854,  Franklin  Fairbanks  1854-1855.  An  engine  house  was  built 
on  Mechanics  Square,  with  an  upstairs  hall  for  meetings  and  other 
conveniences.  The  engine  was  owned  by  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks 
and  Co.  but  under  entire  control  of  the  village. 

The  Deluge  Company  No.  2  was  organized  in  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  House  April  21,  1853 ;  J.  W.  Robinson,  Foreman ;  E.  F. 
Brown,  Assistant ;  F.  Deming,  Clerk.  Moses  Hill  was  Foreman 
1854-1855 ;  and  D.  P.  Thompson  1855.  The  Deluge  engine  was 
bought  at  a  cost  of  $1117  and  housed  in  a  building  that  cost  $500 
more.  There  were  forty  men  in  the  Company.  Disbanded  June 
5,  1880. 

The  Alert  Company  No.  3  organized  in  1856,  was  composed 
of  thirty-two  boys  who  proved  themselves  men  in  action.  B.  O. 
Stephenson  was  Foreman.  "In  dexterity,  aptitude  and  correct 
performance  the  boys  of  the  Alert  are  excelled  by  few." 

In  addition  to  these  three  leading  Fire  Companies  there  was 
during  the  later  fifties,  The  Active  No.  4,  composed  of  young  men, 
Charles  F.  Barney,  Captain ;  also  The  Veterans  No.  5,  a  volunteer 
company  of  fifty  men  who  wore  unique  uniforms  and  did  astonish- 
ing stunts. 

The  Excelsior  Hook  and  Ladder  Company  organized  February  7, 
1860,  with  A.  P.  Blunt,  Foreman  ;  Richard  Eastman,  Assistant ;  E. 
C.  Redington,  Clerk  and  Treasurer.  There  were  originally  eighteen 
fire  ladders.  Four  cisterns  were  built  on  the  Plain  capable  of  re- 
taining 150  hogsheads  each,  at  a  cost  of  $240. 

PARADES   AND   TESTS 

At  the  Cattle  Fair  of  September  24,  1856,  one  of  the  distin- 
guishing attractions  of  the  day  was  the  Parade  of  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  Fire  Companies,  escorted  by  the  Brattleboro  and  St. 
Johnsbury  Brass  Bands.  The  lack  of  sufficient  water  supply  on 
the  grounds  above  Paddock  Village,  prevented  the  anticipated 
tests  between  the  two  principal  engines.  Accordingly  on  the  1st 
of  October,  the  officers  and  men  of  Torrent  No.  1  invited  Deluge 
No.  2  to  a  trial  match  on  the  Plain.     Deluge  No.  2  accepted  the 


298  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

challenge,  tho  considering  the  disparity  of  conditions  they  were 
like  young  David  going  to  meet  Goliath.  Meantime  the  Village 
Trustees  and  Fire  Wardens,  deprecating  a  spirit  of  rivalry  and 
considering  the  two  engines  unfitted  for  competition,  suggested 
in  lieu  of  this  a  public  exhibit  of  evolutions  and  performances  by 
the  three  fire  companies.  This  proposition  was  heartily  accepted 
and  on  Saturday  afternoon,  October  25,  everybody  was  on  the 
way  to  the  cistern  opposite  the  South  Church  to  witness  the  ex- 
hibit. Torrent  lined  up  55  men,  Deluge  50,  Alert  32,  Veterans 
50,  total  on  parade  157,  led  by  the  Brass  Band.  St.  Johnsbury 
took  pride  that  day  in  her  Fire  Companies  ;  the  occasion  wound 
up  with  a  rally  front  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  House,  where  the  men 
were  addressed  by  Judge  Poland,  Erastus  Fairbanks,  Pliny  H. 
White  and  E.  C.  Redington ;  and  were  assured  that  their  feats  of 
rapidity  and  skill,  attaching  suction  and  discharging  hose,  could 
not  be  surpassed  by  the  best  city  fire  companies. 

The  next  year  a  Fireman's  Parade  was  put  upon  the  streets 
in  June.  "It  answered  all  the  purposes  of  the  old  fashioned  June 
training,  with  the  very  desirable  difference  that  good  order  took 
the  place  of  rioting  and  that  where  rum  once  abounded,  water  did 
now  much  more  abound."  A  torch  light  procession  enlivened  the 
evening. 

In  1860  Torrent  No.  1  was  equipped  with  a  new  engine  built 
to  order  in  Pawtucket;  the  tub  was  23  feet  long,  of  mahogany  and 
rosewood  inlaid  with  pearl,  and  with  silver  lettering.  The 
cylinder  was  10  inches  caliber,  aud  threw  three  streams  at  a  time. 
The  men  came  out  in  new  frocks  of  red,  trimmed  with  blue  ;  tri- 
colored  rolling  collars  ;  belts  inscribed  St.  Johnsbury,  white  letter- 
ed on  red  ground ;  fire  caps  New  York  style,  marked  Torrent 
No.  1. 

On  July  4,  that  year,  the  Torrent  with  30  men,  Franklin  Fair- 
banks, Foreman,  executed  the  best  work  in  a  trial  at  Montpelier 
and  took  the  prize  of  $125.  They  made  an  excursion  to  Burling- 
ton and  Montreal.  Burlington  papers  remarked :  "Too  much 
cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  the  Torrent  Company  of  St.  Johns- 
bury. Their  excellent  drill,  determined  and  resolute  look,  their 
great  strength  and  devotion  to  duty,  make  them  the  pride  not  of 


FOR  PROTECTION  299 

their  village  only  but  also  of  the  state."  "The  Torrent  Company- 
is  marked  by  fine  appointments  and  discipline,  vigorous  personal 
appearance  and  a  general  air  of  sobriety  and  good  breeding." 

VILLAGE   WATER   SUPPLIES 

For  about  seventy  years  each  family  had  to  provide  its  own 
independent  supply  of  water ;  partly  by  directing  roof-water  in  to 
tubs  or  cisterns,  partly  by  digging  wells,  partly  by  going  with 
pitcher  or  pail  to  the  nearest  spring  for  drinking  water.  Here 
and  there  a  few  small  springs  were  found  by  the  early  settlers. 
One,  known  as  the  Cold  Spring,  was  in  the  edge  of  the  woods 
below  the  first  school  house,  which  faced  what  is  now  the  head  of 
Summer  street.  This  is  reported  to  have  been  a  great  conven- 
ience to  the  school  children  with  their  tin  cups ;  years  afterward 
when  a  little  pond  had  been  constructed  it  was  equally  interesting 
to  boys  and  girls  with  their  steel  skates.  On  or  near  Judge  Pad- 
dock's premises  was  a  small  spring ;  another  one  bubbled  up  at 
the  Lawrence  tannery,  now  Pinehurst,  which  supplied  many 
family  pitchers  of  that  neighborhood ;  water  was  brought  up  in 
pails  from  a  spring  below  Dr.  Lord's  at  the  south  end  of  the 
street.  Dr.  Stevens'  well,  now  covered  by  the  concrete  south  of 
the  brick  block,  was  for  many  years  a  source  of  water  supply  to 
families  near  the  Bend  ;  it  was  surmounted  by  a  clumsy  structure 
popularly  known  as  the  village  pump.  Introductory  to  a  paper 
on  Aqueducts,  ancient  and  modern,  written  about  1859,  is  found 
a  reference  to  local  conditions  from  which  the  following  is  taken: — 

ERASTUS    FAIRBANKS'    REMINISCENCES 

"My  early  recollection  of  the  village  of  St.  Johnsbury  which  included  at 
that  time  only  the  houses  on  the  Plain,  vividly  brings  to  mind  the  great  in- 
convenience occasioned  by  the  want  of  water,  especially  for  culinary  pur- 
poses. To  meet  this  need  various  projects  were  put  forward.  Captain  James 
Ramsey  and  Willard  Carleton  at  one  time  undertook  to  bring  water  in  clay 
pipes  from  the  hill  northwest  of  the  Plain.  The  pipes  were  in  sections  about 
two  feet  long,  made  by  a  patent  machine  and  designed  to  be  inserted  into 
each  other  and  cemented.  These  pipes  were  great  absorbents  of  water  and 
easily  broken  ;  and  being  incapable  of  sustaining  any  considerable  pressure 
the  plan  proved  abortive  and  within  two  years  was  abandoned.     Specimens 


300  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

of  those  clay  pipes  may  be  found  at  the  present  day  ;  they  were  extensively 
used  for  landmarks,  and  in  the  town  records  of  deeds  reference  is  frequently 
made  to  corners  of  lots  indicated  by  a  clay  pipe  buried  vertically  in  the 
ground." 

It  occasionally  happens  in  the  miscellaneous  excavations  of 
more  recent  date  that  scattered  remnants  of  those  old  red  clay 
pipes  are  thrown  up  like  poor  Yorick's  bones  by  the  spade;  the 
writer  has  a  good  one  planted  pointed-end  up,  in  his  garden — "an 
archaeological  relic  of  man  and  his  industries,"  long  prior  to  the 
period  of  water-mains,  hydrants  and  garden  sprinklers  ;  others 
that  were  set  to  mark  boundary  lines  are  presumably  still  standing 
faithfully  at  the  post  of  duty,  defending  land  rights  against  unlaw- 
ful invasion. 

The  manuscript  from  which  the  foregoing  quotation  has  been 
taken,  describes  a  novel  process  of  trying  to  reach  underground 
water  near  the  south  end.  On  the  spot  where  the  Academy 
Fountain  now  plays  Dr.  Luther  Jewett  who  lived  directly  across 
the  street  sank  a  well  about  1829,  from  which  he  afterward  re- 
marked 

THE    BOTTOM    DROPPED    OUT 

"He  commenced  with  a  brick  curb  at  the  surface  which  he  settled  into 
the  earth  by  throwing  out  the  sand  within,  so  that  the  brick  tube  settled 
gradually  down  while  additional  bricks  were  laid  upon  the  top.  In  this  way 
he  proceeded  through  the  sandy  formation  to  the  depth  of  nearly  forty  feet, 
when  he  reached  a  small  supply  of  water  upon  a  substratum  of  clay.  Deem- 
ing the  quantity  of  water  insufficient,  he  continued  to  dig  in  the  clay  until,  as 
he  used  to  say,  the  bottom  of  his  well  dropped  out!  For,  after  going  through 
a  thin  layer  of  clay,  he  came  into  dry  white  sand  of  an  unknown  depth, 
and  the  effort  to  find  water  was  abandoned. 

Several  years  ago,  a  boy,  while  running  across  the  spot,  broke  through 
the  soil  over  this  well,  but  fortunately  threw  himself  forward  so  as  to  escape 
falling  in.  The  well  had  been  filled  mostly  with  wood,  a  cheaper  article 
than  at  the  present  time,  which  in  the  process  of  years  had  decayed,  leaving 
a  dangerous  cavern." 

A   REFRACTORY   RAM 

The  water  that  was  running  to  waste  from  the  old  Dr.  Lord 
spring  south  of  the  Plain  was  of  fairly  good  quality,  and  in  1851 
J.  P.  Fairbanks  installed  a  hydraulic  ram  which  pumped  a   small 


FOR  PROTECTION  301 

stream  of  it  up  to  the  level  of  his  buildings.  This  machine  was  a 
novelty  in  the  village,  and  boys  were  attracted  to  it,  particularly 
after  nightfall  when  its  wierd  and  measured  thumping  sounded 
more  strangely  than  the  hooting  of  the  owls.  The  ram  was  apt 
to  get  out  of  gear  and  David  Kinsman  was  the  man  always  sent 
for  to  fix  it.  One  time  his  patience  with  its  refractory  behaviour 
was  so  exhausted  that  he  inflicted  on  it  a  smart  rap  with  his  tool, 
accompanied  with  expletives  of  the  sort  not  desired  on  those 
premises.  Turning  suddenly,  there  to  his  surprise,  stood  the 
owner  of  the  ram,  who  had  overheard  the  vocal  explosion.  He 
said  nothing,  but  to  the  surprise  of  both  men  the  machine  resumed 
operations  and  began  to  pump.  The  next  time  it  stopped  Mr. 
Fairbanks  went  into  the  shop  and  told  David  that  he  had  better  go 
up  and  say  a  few  words  to  the  old  ram. 

THE    ST.   JOHNSBURY   AQUEDUCT 

In  1854  the  St.  Johnsbury  Aqueduct  Company  was  incorpora- 
ted for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  village  with  water ;  the  cor- 
porators organized  in  March  1857,  with  Dr.  Bancroft,  President ; 
Ephraim  Jewett,  Clerk.  At  a  citizens'  meeting  held  at  the  St. 
Johnsbury  House  they  reported  thro  a  committee,  a  plan  to  pump 
Passumpsic  River  to  a  reservoir  on  Bingham  Hill,  the  present  site 
of  Brightlook,  190  feet  above  the  river  level.  This  reservoir  was 
planned  to  take  in  4000  gallons  an  hour,  with  capacity  for  126,876 
gallons.  Subscriptions  were  started  for  300  shares  at  $50  each  ; 
nothing  further  was  accomplished ;  the  suggestion  of  a  reservoir 
however  was  carried  out  by  the  Aqueduct  Company  in  1866,  and 
until  the  erection  of  Brightlook  Hospital  the  low  circular  structure 
on  Reservoir  Hill  was  a  familiar  object  west  of  Summer  street. 

On  the  ninth  of  January  1860  the  new  St.  Johnsbury  Aqueduct 
Company  was  organized  under  the  Act  of  Legislature  of  Novem- 
ber 21,  1859 ;  with  a  capital  of  $100,000  which  was  doubled  37 
years  later ;  the  corporators  were  the  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  and 
Co.  who  purchased  the  property  of  the  former  Company,  most  of 
which  was  already  owned  by  them.  The  necessity  of  a  more 
adequate  fire  protection  at  the  Scale  Works,  led  to  the  construc- 
tion in  1861,  of  a  six-inch  pump-log  line  to  the  Hale  Springs  in 


302  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Waterford,  which  ultimately  tapped  the  Stiles  Pond  and  finally 
developed  into  the  extensive  Aqueduct  system  now  depended  on 
for  the  entire  domestic  water  supply  of  the  village. 

In  the  summer  of  1877  new  iron  cement-lined  pipes  were  laid 
to  Stiles  Pond,  which  the  Company  had  recently  purchased.  It 
was  found  that  the  Pond  which  then  covered  sixty  acres  was  176 
feet  higher  than  Main  street  and  that  by  doubling  its  capacity  by 
damming,  a  town  of  40,000  population  could  be  amply  supplied  for 
all  needed  purposes.  A  year  later  the  Pond  was  giving  seventy 
pounds  pressure  to  the  square  inch  on  Main  street  and  110  on 
Railroad  street.  A  new  filter  of  2101  feet  surface  and  30  inches 
depth  of  gravel  and  fine  sand  was  built  in  1882 ;  since  that  date 
the  four  large  filters  now  in  use,  with  standpipe,  have  been  erected 
and  all  the  water  brought  to  the  village  comes  down  thro  42  inches 
of  approved  filtration.  In  1894,  ten  miles  of  new  piping  were  laid, 
mostly  ten-inch ;  during  that  and  the  preceding  year,  nearly 
$75,000  was  expended  on  construction,  including  $4250  for  filter, 
and  $600  for  a  venture  meter.  In  addition  to  the  ten-inch  main 
laid  in  1894,  a  fourteen-inch  line,  following  a  different  route, 
was  laid  in  1912  from  Stiles  Pond  to  Summerville  about  three  and 
a  half  miles  length,  making  two  separate  mains  of  24  inch  total 
capacity.  The  amount  of  water  used  or  drawn  in  the  village  is 
registered  each  ten  minutes  by  the  meters,  showing  on  the  aver- 
age a  million  gallons  per  day.  The  aqueduct  is  capable  of  sup- 
plying three  and  a  half  million  gallons  daily.  Since  1906  all 
water  for  domestic  uses  has  been  taken  from  this  system  ;  there 
are  also  61  hydrants  for  use  by  the  fire  department,  34  of  which 
were  paid  for  by  the  village.  The  Pond  is  fed  principally  by  sub- 
aqueous springs  of  copious  volume  ;  to  secure  perpetual  purity  of 
inflowing  waters,  the  Aqueduct  Company  has  purchased  the  Stiles 
farm,  and  taken  other  measures  to  protect  the  water  shed. 

THE   VILLAGE   WATER   WORKS 

During  the  summer  of  1876  the  Village  Water  Works  were 
established  at  the  mill  dam  in  Paddock  Village,  the  original  Ar- 
nold water  privilege.  The  main  purpose  in  view  was  to  secure 
fire  protection  ;  water  for  all  other  uses  was  however  included  in 


FOR  PROTECTION  303 

the  plan.  The  small  island  was  secured,  on  which  was  placed  the 
pump  house,  a  brick  building  about  thirty  feet  square ;  and  six- 
fortieths  of  the  water  power  was  purchased,  for  $600.  In  May 
the  Trustees  contracted  for  a  number-one  Flanders  Pump,  capac- 
ity 500,000  gallons  per  twenty-four  hours  ;  also  for  a  number- three 
Pump,  capacity  2,000,000  gallons,  guaranteed  to  throw  six  one- 
inch  fire  streams  100  feet  each ;  also  1940  rods  of  iron  pipe,  two 
to  twelve  inch  sizes ;  also  66  two-way  and  4  three-way  hydrants — 
total  piping  reaching  six  miles  and  twenty  rods.  This  contract 
called  for  $56,940.93  and  did  not  include  the  work  of  trenching 
and  laying  the  pipe  lines.  This  was  undertaken  by  Joseph  Tru- 
dell  at  $2.74  per  rod  for  the  entire  six  miles.  The  water  wheel  at 
the  pump  house  was  Buzzell's  giant  wheel,  made  in  Paddock  Vil- 
lage. To  meet  the  expense  of  this  river  system,  Village  Water 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $75,000  were  issued,  payable  after  five 
and  within  twenty  years,  at  the  rate  of  $5000  a  year. 

The  hydrants  did  good  work  in  playing  on  burning  buildings, 
but  serious  difficulty  was  encountered  by  reason  of  inadequate 
water  power  ;  and  the  annual  expense  for  repairs  and  up-keep  of 
the  machinery  was  heavy.  During  the  month  of  January  1881 
there  was  no  power  to  move  the  pumps.  In  1892  a  new  boiler  and 
steam  pump  was  put  in  at  an  expense  of  $3124 ;  this  was  185  horse 
power,  intended  to  discharge  1500  gallons  a  minute  on  a  fire  and  to 
deliver  a  million  and  a  half  gallons  each  24  hours.  In  October  that 
year  the  power  was  in  requisition,  pouring  1000  gallons  a  minute 
for  four  hours  on  the  fire  that  swept  the  east  side  of  Railroad 
street.  Three  years  later  at  the  burning  of  the  Pythian  Block  a 
pressure  of  110  pounds  was  readily  sustained.  In  1893  the  village 
paid  $4000  for  four  additional  shares  of  water  power ;  of  the  forty 
shares  of  that  water  privilege  the  Village  of  St.  Johnsbury  now 
owns  eight. 

In  August  1910  the  use  of  Passumpsic  River  water  for 
drinking  and  household  purposes  was  discontinued  by  order  of 
the  State  Board  of  Health.  It  is  now  delivered  for  fire  protection, 
sprinkling,  water  troughs  and  fountains,  stables,  garages  and 
manufacturing  purposes,  only. 


304  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

In  seeking  a  right  solution  of  the  water  supply  problem,  sur- 
veys at  various  times  were  made  and  reported  to  the  Village 
Trustees.  It  was  estimated  that  water  connection  with  Joe's 
Pond  would  cost  $188,378 ;  with  Goss  Hollow  Brook,  $100,273 ; 
with  Hall's  Pond,  Waterford,  $140,624  ;  with  Willoughby  Lake  an 
undesirable  sum  ;  an  Artesian  well  would  call  for  $40,000  ;  an  ade- 
quate Filter  on  Passumpsic  River  would  cost  $30,000.  These 
various  propositions  were  considered  at  Village  meetings;  the 
filtration  scheme  was  put  up  urgently  in  1905,  on  a  $20,000  esti- 
mate ;  this  came  within  31  votes  of  adoption ;  a  second  special 
meeting  was  called,  at  which  time  it  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of 
165  votes. 


XXIV 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS. 


1 'Vermont  and  Delaware  declare  that  every  sect  ought  to  maintain  some 
form  of  religious  worship,  and  Vermont  adds  that  it  ought  to  observe  the 
Lord's  Day."  Ambassador Brice 


THE   OLD    FIRST   CHURCH    1809 

The  early  story  of  this  church  which  held  a  unique  place  in 
the  history  of  the  town  has  been  given  in  chapter  ten.  With  a 
pastor  on  the  ground  only  two  years  of  its  first  quarter-century,  it 
nevertheless  made  vigorous  growth  in  membership  and  in 
spiritual  life  of  a  serious  type,  confronted  by  prevailing  irreligion 
and  immorality.  With  later  years  came  the  increasing  impor- 
tance of  the  Plain  as  the  center  of  business  and  population,  and 
the  consequent  weakening  of  the  old  Mother  Church  on  the  hill. 
Since  1825  its  influence  has  been  becoming  more  widely  distribu- 
ted through  its  lineal  descendants,  the  North,  the  East,  and  the 
South  Congregational  Churches.  Its  pastors  by  installation  were 
Pearson  Thurston,  1815-17;  Josiah  Morse  M.  D.,  1833-43;  J.  P. 
Stone,  1846-50  ;  H.  Wellington,  1855-60 ;  Geo.  H.  Clarke,  1862-65  ; 
H.  M.  Holliday,  1866-67  ;  Edward  T.  Fairbanks,  1868-74.  The 
house  of  worship  is  the  old  meeting  house  of  1804,  taken  down  in 
1845  and  re-erected  on  its  present  site  in  the  Center  Village. 

THE    UNIVERSALIST   SOCIETY   1813 

The  beginnings  of  this  organization  falling  within  the  period 
of  the  early  history  of  the  town  have  been  narrated  on  page  135. 
There  is  no  record  of  any  organized  church.     The  adherents  in- 


306  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

eluded  a  large  proportion  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  town  ;  210 
signatures  were  on  the  constitution.  The  first  preachers  appear 
to  have  been  itinerants;  a  few  names  only  are  found — Hollis 
Sampson,  Mr.  Vose,  Mr.  Wright  and  later  B.  M.  Tillotson  and 
T.  R.  Spencer.  A  majority  of  the  pews  in  the  old  meeting  house 
on  the  hill  were  owned  by  men  of  this  society,  and  all  the  early 
services  were  held  there,  alternating  with  the  Congregationalists. 
In  1843  the  Universalist  meeting  house  was  erected  in  the  Center 
Village;  this  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1876.  Regular  services 
therein  had  been  suspended  prior  to  that  event ;  since  then  the 
remnant  of  the  original  society  living  at  the  Center  Village  has 
been  under  the  parishional  care  of  the  minister  of  the  Church  of 
the  Messiah  at  the  Plain. 

NORTH  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  1825 

To  accommodate  families  living  on  or  near  the  Plain  three 
miles  or  more  from  the  Meeting  House,  a  colony,  called  the  Sec- 
ond Congregational,  was  set  off  from  the  old  First  Church,  April 
7,  1825.  By  a  coincidence  not  designed,  it  began,  as  the  mother 
church  had  eighteen  years  before,  with  six  men  and  thirteen 
women.  For  two  years  this  company  met  for  worship  in  a  small 
store  reconstructed  for  the  purpose ;  see  page  211.  In  1847  the 
first  Meeting  House  on  the  Plain  was  built,  on  the  present  North 
Church  site.  Twenty  years  later  it  was  moved  to  where  it  now 
stands,  south  of  the  Court  House  and  a  new  one  was  erected, 
which  in  turn  was  moved  across  the  street  and  converted  into 
Music  Hall,  to  make  way  for  the  third  and  final  structure  of  stone, 
dedicated  February  24,  1881.  Architecturally  this  building  is  not 
surpassed  by  any  other  in  the  state.  The  style  is  Mediaeval  Goth- 
ic ;  the  material  is  Isle  La  Motte  stone  with  ornamental  pillars  of 
red  granite ;  the  interior  woodwork  is  of  native  cherry,  the  win- 
dows and  wall  decorations  are  in  the  highest  degree  artistic.  The 
organ,  a  gift  from  one  of  the  sons  of  the  church,  is  an  instrument 
of  great  compass  and  range  of  expression,  having  1789  pipes. 
The  length  of  this  building  is  162  feet,  the  turret  above  the  bell 
tower  rises  140  feet  from  the  ground  ;    the  seating  capacity  is  800. 

In  membership  and  wide  reach  of  influence  the  North  Church 
has  for  many  years  had  a  leading  rank  in  this  part  of  the  State. 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  307 

The  three  founders  of  the  scale  industry  were  among  its  earlier 
members  and  gave  strong  impulse  to  its  spiritual  life  and  liberal 
benevolences.  It  inherits  an  honorable  history  and  superior 
equipment,  and  has  a  large  constituency.  The  membership  in  1912 
was  512. 

Pastors,  James  Johnson,  1827-38  ;  John  H.  Worcester,  1839- 
46;  Wm.  B.  Bond,  1847-58 ;  E.  C.  Cummings,  1860-70;  C,  M. 
Southgate,  1870-75 ;  Henry  W.  Jones,  1875-85  ;  C.  M.  Lamson, 
1885-94  ;  Albert  H.  Heath,  1894-99  ;  Edward  M.  Chapman,  1900-05  ; 
Edward  D.  Eaton,  1905-07 ;  Geo.  W.  C.  Hill,  1907-1913  ;  F.  B. 
Richards,  1914. 

CENTER   VILLAGE    METHODIST   CHURCH  1835 

A  small  dwelling  house  fixed  over  for  the  purpose  was  used 
by  this  Church  until  the  erection  in  1841  of  a  house  of  worship, 
the  third  in  that  village  ;  which  is  still  standing  and  regularly  oc- 
cupied. During  the  earlier  years  the  nucleus  of  this  Church  was 
on  the  Lyndon  circuit  and  among  the  ministers  whose  names  ap- 
pear, were  James  Templeton,  1827 ;  J.  A.  Scarrit,  1829 ;  John 
Nason,  1832  ;  J.  F.  Adams,  1834.  Among  the  sons  of  this  Church 
was  one  whose  name  has  given  it  distinction  :  Rev.  Edwin  W. 
Parker,  a  native  of  this  town,  which  will  ever  hold  in  honor  his 
eminent  work  as  a  missionary.  He  went  to  India  in  1859,  and 
after  years  of  conspicuous  service  was  made  Bishop  of  the  Metho- 
dist Church  in  that  Country.  His  wife  and  efficient  helper  was 
Lois  S.  Lee  of  the  First  Congregational  Church. 

EAST   CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH    1840 

This  church,  like  its  two  predecessors,  began  with  19  mem- 
bers, one  added,  making  20,  mostly  by  letter  from  the  North  and 
Center.  It  was  organized  November  25,  1840,  on  which  day  also 
the  Meeting  House  newly  built  was  dedicated.  Twelve  years  later 
the  building  was  raised  and  a  select  school  was  kept  in  the  lower 
rooms  by  Pastor  Gurney.  In  1870  there  were  extensive  repairs 
and  refurnishings ;  again  in  1902  an  entire  remodeling  and  deco- 
rating for  which  about  $2500  was  expended.       The  gifts  for  this 


308  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

purpose  ranged  from  $170  to  the  one  cent  that  was  brought  in  by 
a  small  boy  who  hoped  his  contribution  would  help  some.  Names 
of  the  charter  members  are  on  the  double  windows  facing  south, 
and  on  the  window  over  the  pulpit  are  commemorated  the  services 
of  the  pastors  ;  named  as  follows  :  Rufus  Case,  1842-49  ;  John  H. 
Gurney,  1850-55  ;  John  Bowen,  1858-63  ;  Wm.  Baldwin,  1864-66  ; 
J.  P.  Humphrey,  1868-78  ;  F.  B.  Phelps,  1879-84  ;  J.  N.  Walker, 
1884-86;  J.  F.  Whitman,  1886-88;  B.  S.  Adams,  1890-91 ;  Arthur 
Hertel,  1891-92;  Geo.  W.  Patterson,  1894-1901;  E.  E.  Grant 
1901-14.  Being  the  only  church  in  the  East  part  of  the  town  this 
one  holds  an  important  place  and  has  done  a  valuable  work  for 
the  community,  reaching  across  the  town  lines  into  Kirby  and 
Waterford.  At  the  re-dedication  in  1902  there  had  been  370 
names  on  the  church,  of  whom  40  were  received  at  one  time  by 
Pastor  Humphrey,  whose  memory  is  cherished  with  peculiar  love 
and  veneration. 

EAST   VILLAGE    METHODIST   1844 

Soon  after  1840  a  Methodist  preaching  station  was  establish- 
ed at  the  East  Village.  A.  Hitchcock  was  the  minister  in  charge 
in  1844  and  somewhile  thereafter.  In  1850,  Jonathan  Whitney  was 
the  preacher  ;  the  place  of  meeting  was  unsuitable  and  he  urged 
the  securing  of  a  house  of  worship.  It  appeared  that  in  1818,  John 
Stiles  had  put  up  a  Free  Baptist  Chapel  in  Waterford  Hollow.  It 
was  a  plain  structure  with  square  pews,  which  were  sold  off  from 
time  to  time  till  something  like  $1500  was  realized.  In  those 
days  denominational  lines  were  rigid  ;  at  one  time  a  Universalist 
preacher  found  his  way  into  the  pulpit  of  that  house ;  when  Mr. 
Stiles  came  in  and  recognized  the  situation,  he  found  it  his  duty 
to  go  into  the  pulpit  and  get  the  man  of  false  doctrine  out  of  it. 
This  is  the  story  as  now  narrated.  In  process  of  time  the  demand 
for  doctrine  of  any  sort  in  that  house  seems  to  have  declined  and 
services  were  no  longer  held  in  it. 

Then  in  1850  the  Methodist  Conference  bought  it,  moved  it 
into  the  East  Village  and  planted  it  there,  opposite  the  Congrega- 
tional Church.  Isaac  Harrington  was  a  leader  in  this  movement. 
Some  while  later  he  would  pay  a  third  of  the  debt  to  avoid  a 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  309 

mortgage.  When  the  church  was  opened  for  worship  there  were 
58  members  ;  a  third  of  the  pews  were  for  free  sittings.  Among 
the  preachers  were  Lyman  Farnham,  Daniel  Carr,  Wilbur  Fisk, 
Orange  Scott,  George  Bickford,  J.  Ward.  In  1896,  the  building 
became  too  dilapidated  to  be  longer  used,  it  was  torn  down  and 
the  society  discontinued  its  services. 

SOUTH    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH   1851 

The  increase  of  population  after  the  opening  of  the  railroad 
in  1850,  and  the  difficulty  in  securing  seats  for  all  worshipers  in 
the  Meeting  House,  led  up  to  the  question  of  another  church  on 
the  Plain.  Inquiry  was  made  as  to  other  denominations.  It  did 
not  appear  that  any  other  was  intending  to  come  in.  The  situa- 
tion was  discussed  long  and  anxiously.  The  conclusion  finally 
forced  upon  the  people  was  that  the  church  now  on  the  ground 
must  be  divided  in  to  two.  No  one  welcomed  this  proposition, 
least  of  all  those  who  would  have  to  go.  But  the  religious  wel- 
fare of  the  community  plainly  seeming  to  demand  it,  the  inevita- 
ble was  accepted.  Sixty-five  members  were  set  off  to  constitute 
the  colony.  This  was  a  little  more  than  one-fourth  the  resident 
membership.  On  the  23rd  of  October,  1851,  they  were  organized 
under  the  name  of  the  South  Congregational  Church.  The  house 
of  worship,  adjoining  the  Academy,  was  built  by  the  whole  socie- 
ty, to  be  owned  and  occupied  by  the  colony,  and  was  dedicated 
January  14,  1852. 

For  the  first  ten  years  the  sanguine  prediction  of  rapid  growth 
was  far  from  being  realized.  There  were  serious  losses  and  dis- 
couragements and  much  talk  of  reunion.  Brighter  days  dawned 
with  the  second  decade,  and  during  the  high  wave  of  religious 
awakening  in  the  seventies  the  membership  was  doubled  and  large 
congregations  filled  the  house.  Particular  attention  has  from  the 
first  been  given  to  missionary,  educational  and  philanthropic 
work,  to  inter-church  fraternity  and  union  in  religious  activities. 

The  South  Church  house  of  worship  is  now  the  only  one  left 
on  the  Plain  of  the  Wren  type  formerly  so  common  in  New 
England — somewhat  modernized  in  the  interior  with  harmonious 


310  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

wall  tinting,  memorial  windows  and  hard  wood  floor.  The  broad 
pew-backs  finely  grained  and  the  wide  spreading  mahogany  pulpit 
are  cherished  reminders  of  earlier  times.  The  village  clock  rings 
from  the  bell  tower  of  the  South  Church  and  a  fountain  plays  on 
its  lawn. 

Pastors,  Sumner  G.  Clapp,  1852-55  ;  George  N.  Webber, 
1855-59;  Lewis  O.  Brastow,  1861-73;  Edward  T.  Fairbanks, 
1874-1902  ;    S.  G.  Barnes,  1902-11 ;   Paul  Dwight  Moody,  1912. 

GRACE    METHODIST   CHURCH    1856 

With  a  membership  of  34,  this  Church  was  organized,  De- 
cember 3,  1856,  in  the  old  Union  Hall,  where  services  were  held  for 
the  next  two  years.  In  January  1859  the  church  building  on  Central 
Street  was  completed  at  an  expense  of  $5000  and  dedicated.  Ad- 
joining this  was  built  in  1880  the  parsonage  costing  $2700.  By 
this  time  the  membership  had  increased  to  about  200  and  the  seat- 
ing capacity  was  insufficient ;  it  was  therefore  determined  to  en- 
large the  building.  For  this  purpose  on  a  Sunday  in  1883,  $5250 
was  raised,  afterward  increased  to  $11,000,  including  generous 
gifts  from  outside  the  Society.  The  enlarged  new  building  with 
modern  appliances  was  dedicated  January  31,  1884.  In  1908,  after 
serious  injury  by  fire,  it  was  remodeled  and  decorated,  standing 
with  the  parsonage  at  a  valuation  of  $35,000.  The  bell  on  this 
building  was  originally  installed  with  fire  alarm  attachments ;  its 
heavy  tones  continue  to  ring  in  good  congregations. 

Pastors:  Alonzo  Webster,  1856;  H.  F.  Foster,  '57;  D. 
Packer,  '58 ;  H.  W.  Worthen,  '59 ;  H.  P.  Cushing,  '61 ;  I.  McAnn, 
'63  ;  A.  A.  Titus,  '66;  E.  C.  Bass,  '69  ;  J.  N.  Walker,  70;  H.  C. 
Sheldon,  '71 ;  H.  A.  Spencer,  72  ;  A.  L.  Cooper,  73 ;  D.  E. 
Miller,  74;  H.  F.  Austin,  78;  E.  S.  Locke,  79;  E.  W.  Culver, 
'82 ;  L.  L.  Beeman,  '85 ;  T.  P.  Frost,  '87 ;  G.  M.  Curl,  '89 ;  C.  W. 
Bradley,  '92;  W.  S.  Smithers,  '93;  Thos.  Tyrie,  '99;  G.  W. 
Hunt,  '02;  J.  M.  Frost,  '06;  Peter  Black,  1909. 

NOTRE    DAME    DES   VICTOIRES    1858 

The  first  resident  Catholic  priest  in  the  town  was  Rev.  S. 
Danielou  who  came  here  in  1858.      During  the  16  years  of  his 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  311 

pastorate  he  built  the  brick  church  on  Cherry  street  with  the  first 
rectory,  and  began  the  school  for  boys.  In  1874,  Rev.  J.  A. 
Boissonnault  began  his  long  and  efficient  ministry.  At  that  time 
there  were  221  St.  Johnsbury  families  in  the  parish,  but  his  super- 
vision extended  to  thirteen  other  towns.  He  completed  the  parochial 
school  for  boys,  now  in  charge  of  the  Brothers  of  St.  Gabriel, 
built  the  convent  Mount  St.  Joseph  for  girls  in  1882,  which  is  in 
charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  the  next  year  bought 
the  Prospect  street  parochial  residence,  originally  built  by  Dr.  J. 
P.  Bancroft  about  1847.  In  1886  foundations  were  laid  for  the 
new  granite  church  edifice,  built  at  an  expense  of  $37,000 
and  dedicated  January  6,  1889.  This  building  is  140  by  60 
feet  on  the  ground  with  a  tower  and  spire  198  feet  high,  seating 
capacity  1200.  The  interior,  finished  in  ash,  frescoed  and  lighted 
with  figured  windows  is  thronged  with  worshipers  at  all  stated 
times.  In  1894  was  erected  the  St.  Johnsbury  Hospital,  the  first 
in  the  town.  The  group  of  substantial  buildings  secured  for  the 
Notre  Dame  parish  during  the  pastorate  of  Father  Boissonnault 
represents  an  expenditure  of  some  $250,000  and  they  stand  as  a 
permanent  visible  monument  of  his  work.  More  worthy  of  note 
than  these  was  the  personal  influence  of  the  man  himself.  For 
35  years  he  lived  among  us,  respected  and  honored  by  everyone, 
for  his  modest  bearing,  his  friendly  and  genial  spirit,  his  stalwart 
promotion  of  righteousness,  sobriety  and  good  citizenship.  His 
worth  and  weight  as  an  influential  citizen  were  at  all  times  recog- 
nized ;  all  classes  and  creeds  united  in  paying  respect  to  his 
memory  at  the  last  services ;  places  of  business  were  closed  as 
his  body  was  borne  to  the  burial.  His  successor,  the  Rev.  E.  C. 
Drouhin  took  the  rectorship  in  August  1911.  In  the  parochial 
schools  of  Notre  Dame  are  some  400  pupils ;  the  young  men  of 
the  parish  have  a  large  and  flourishing  Association,  with  head- 
quarters in  St.  Agnes  Hall,  which  is  equipped  with  library,  reading 
room,  gymnasium  and  other  accessories  for  their  culture  and  im- 
provement. 

CHURCH   OF   THE    MESSIAH   1868 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  services  were  held  in 
Union  Hall  and  later  in  the  Town  Hall,  by  pastors  of  the  Univer- 


312  TOWN    OF    ST.   JOHNSBURY 

salist  Church  at  the  Center  Village.  Organization  was  effected 
January  23,  1868,  and  in  December  1871,  Rev.  B.  M.  Tillotson 
accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  in  which  he  continued  for  12 
years.  Under  his  leadership  the  house  of  worship  on  Eastern 
Avenue  was  erected,  and  dedicated  January  23,  1873.  Lambert 
Packard  was  the  architect  and  John  Stevens  the  builder ;  the 
seating  capacity  is  500.  A  good  number  of  business  men  were 
enlisted  in  the  support  of  this  organization;  the  women,  from  their 
first  donation  of  $1000,  have  continued  a  strong  reliance  for  practi- 
cal and  financial  aid  ;  at  the  anniversary  of  1908,  it  appeared  that 
they  had  contributed  $15,750  in  behalf  of  the  church. 

Pastors  :  B.  M.  Tillotson,  1871 ;  Geo.  W.  Jenkins,  1883  ;  E. 
A.  Hoyt,  1885  ;  Costello  Weston,  1892  ;  Hervey  H.  Hoyt,  1894  ; 
H.  L.  Veasey,  1898  ;  J.  P.  Quimby,  1899  ;  A.  F.  Walsh,  1901 ;  B. 
F.  Butler,  1908;    C.  L.  Eaton,  1913. 

FREE    BAPTIST    CHURCH   1869 

Eight  men  with  their  eight  wives  and  one  other,  seventeen  in 
all  were  organized  into  this  body  in  the  house  of  Francis  Switzer  by 
a  Council  from  the  Wheelock  Quarterly  meeting,  November  10, 
1869.  For  four  years  services  were  held  in  the  Hall  in  Bank 
Block  ;  the  house  of  worship,  corner  of  Main  and  Prospect  Streets, 
was  erected  in  1875.  On  Sunday  morning  March  26,  1881,  this 
house  was  burned  to  ashes  ;  with  the  resolute  purpose  to  rebuild, 
came  generous  contributions  from  citizens  of  the  town,  and  on 
December  3,  1882,  public  worship  was  held  in  the  new  building 
which  was  a  replica  of  the  one  first  occupied  seven  years  before, 
with  seating  capacity  of  300.  In  1818  a  Free  Baptist  congrega- 
tion was  established  at  St.  Johnsbury  Center,  of  which  no  definite 
information  appears. 

Pastors :  W.  L.  Noyes,  1870 ;  Isaac  Hyatt,  1872 ;  Ozro 
Roys,  1874;  C.  S.  Frost,  1878;  H.  Lockhart,  1881;  D.  H. 
Adams,  1883  ;  F.  E.  Davidson,  1886;  C.  B.  Atwood,  1889 ;  A.  I. 
Davis,  1891 ;  G.  C.  Waterman,  1895 ;  R.  L.  Dustin,  1901 ;  F.  H. 
Knollin,  1906  ;  E.  Holman,  1907  ;    E.  E.  Phillips,  1910. 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  313 

THE    FIRST    BAPTIST  CHURCH  1874 

Organized  by  William  Bacon  of  New  York  City  in  1874,  with 
13  members.  The  house  of  worship  was  erected  on  Railroad 
street  the  following  year,  "with  seating  capacity  of  250 ;  to  the 
rear  of  this  was  attached  in  1904  a  convenient  and  commodious 
Chapel.  This  Church  holds  an  important  position,  being  the  only 
one  in  the  populous  district  that  includes  Railroad  and  Summer- 
ville  villages. 

Pastors :  J.  H.  Marsh,  1874 ;  E.  T.  Sandford,  1875  ;  G.  O. 
Webster,  1891 ;  F.  R.  Stratton,  1892  ;  H.  M.  Douglass,  1894 ;  A. 
C.  Hussey,  1899  ;  C.  R.  B.  Dodge,  1902  ;  Albert  H.  Gage,  1905  ; 
F.  S.  Tolman,  1908. 

st.  Andrew's  episcopal  church  1876 

Services  of  the  Episcopal  order  were  first  held  in  1856,  in  the 
old  Union  Hall  and  occasionally  in  other  places  prior  to  Novem- 
ber 1876,  at  which  time  the  parish  was  formally  organized  with 
articles  of  association  signed  by  twenty  men.  The  next  year  was 
begun  the  erection  of  the  house  of  worship,  dedication  of  which 
was  held  August  3,  1881 ;  the  pipe  organ  was  presented  some 
years  later  by  Capt.  E.  F.  Griswold.  The  roll  of  communicants 
in  1912  was  about  200.  The  men  of  St.  Andrews  have  been 
among  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  town,  and  some  of  the  rec- 
tors have  been  highly  esteemed  in  the  community. 

Rectors:  N.  F.  Putnam,  1876;  F.  S.  Fisher,  1882;  George 
H.  Bailey,  1888 ;  F.  D.  Buckley,  1889;  Frank  Appleton,  1892; 
W.  H.  Mill,  1897;  Charles  Pickells,  1900;  James  A.  Thompson, 
1904  ;  Alfred  Poole  Grint,  1910. 

THE  ADVENT  CHURCH  1875 

About  forty  persons  were  organized  in  to  this  body  in  1875, 
by  Rev.  M.  A.  Potter.  The  next  year  the  building,  seating  400, 
was  erected  on  Pleasant  street ;  somewhile  after,  a  bell  was  hung, 
the  gift  of  Col.  Frederick  Fletcher. 

Pastors :  M.  A.  Potter,  1875  ;  George  Wallace,  L.  C.  Mc- 
Kinstry,  A.  S.  Williams,  Benjamin  Finney,  F.   L.   Piper,  L.  W. 


314  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Smith,  M.  A.  Potter  again  in  1891,  and  since  that  time  a  succes- 
sion of  short  pastorates,  with  regular  services  and  Sunday  School 
well  sustained,  at  all  times. 

PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH   1879 

It  was  on  the  29th  July,  1879,  that  this  Church,  Reformed 
Presbyterian,  was  organized  by  a  commission  from  the  New  York 
Presbytery.  There  were  31  members,  and  the  next  year  Wm. 
R.  Laird  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor.  For  three  years 
services  were  held  in  the  Avenue  House  Hall,  till  the  completion 
in  1883,  of  the  house  of  worship  on  Eastern  Avenue.  Mr.  Laird 
remained  for  nine  years,  and  was  succeeded  in  1889  by  W.  A. 
Pinkerton.  In  1892  this  Church  was  transferred  to  the  Presby- 
terian General  Assembly ;  three  years  later  services  were  discon- 
tinued. 

ST.    ALOYSIUS    CHRUCH    1896 

The  English  speaking  Catholics  who  had  hitherto  been  con- 
nected with  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame,  were  on  the  24th  of  July, 
1896,  organized  into  a  parish  of  their  own,  known  at  first  as  St. 
Rose,  with  Rev.  M.  J.  Carmody  as  priest.  In  August  that  year 
the  old  Cross  bakery  lot  was  purchased  as  the  site  for  a  house  of 
worship,  which  was  dedicated  Oct.  26,  1898.  This  was  a  brick 
building,  with  an  auditorium  forty  by  seventy  feet,  and  a  seating 
capacity  of  500,  with  a  fine  organ.  The  name  was  changed  ;  it  is 
now  St.  Aloysius.  In  October,  1898,  Rev.  John  A.  Lynch  became 
the  pastor  ;  he  built  the  parish  house  adjoining  the  church.  He 
was  succeeded  in  December,  1904,  by  Rev.  T.  J.  Leonard  who  after 
ten  years'  ministry  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Dwyer.  The 
Knights  of  Columbus  were  organized  in  this  parish  in  1896 ;  there 
are  about  200  members,  nearly  all  of  whom  belong  to  the  Young 
Men's  Temperance  Society,  and  also  to  the  Holy  Name  Society, 
pledged  against  profanity. 

THE    SALVATION   ARMY   1885 

Operations  by  this  body  began  on  our  streets  in  the  summer 
of  1885,  under  direction  of  Capt.  Stables  of  the  Toronto  Com- 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  315 

mand,  and  barracks  were  opened  in  the  building  now  occupied  by 
The  Caledonian.  In  1897,  the  vacated  Presbyterian  auditorium 
was  secured  for  headquarters,  and  retained  about  sixteen  years. 
Substantial  service  has  been  rendered  by  the  Salvation  Army 
among  many  people  especially  in  need  of  a  helping  hand  and  gos- 
pel cheer.  In  1913  this  work  was  discontinued  and  the  City 
Mission  was  established  under  the  auspices  of  the  village  churches, 
G.  W.  Beckwith  and  wife  in  charge. 

CHRISTIAN   SCIENCE 

Under  charter  of  January  26, 1898,  the  First  Church  of  Christ 
Scientist  was  organized  and  incorporated ;  and  established  with 
By-Laws  revised  by  the  Mother  Church  in  Boston,  October  26, 
1900 ;  Charles  E.  Peck,  President ;  George  P.  Moore,  Treasurer; 
Readers,  Miss  Kate  D.  Peck,  Miss  Katherine  Puffer.  The  first 
regular  place  of  meeting  was  Odd  Fellows  Hall,  afterward  Pythian 
Hall.  On  the  removal  of  The  Caledonian  from  Pythian  Building 
the  rooms  thus  vacated  were  fitted  up  for  a  place  of  worship, 
which  is  now  occupied ;  a  public  reading  room  is  attached. 

Sunday  Schools  have  been  an  important  feature  in  all  the 
churches.  At  the  last  canvass,  made  in  1905,  the  total  enrollment 
was  3523  ;  of  which  142  were  at  the  East  Village,  175  at  the  Cen- 
ter. The  distribution  among  churches  on  the  Plain  was  as 
follows :  Methodist,  887  ;  North  Congregational,  683 ;  South 
Congregational,  438  ;  Episcopal,  355  ;  Universalist,  334  ;  Baptist, 
224 ;  Free  Baptist,  140  ;  Advent,  94  ;  Christian  Science,  51. 

RELIGIOUS   REVIVALS 

In  all  earlier  years  the  "protracted  meetings"  of  two,  three 
or  more  days  used  to  be  held,  at  which  the  church  members  made 
public  confession  and  rededication  to  Christian  service.  Family 
letters  of  that  period  reveal  the  deep  and  serious  tone  of  feeling 
prevalent  during  these  occasions,  and  old  time  revivals  were  the 
usual  accompaniment.  In  1816  there  were  added  40  to  the  small 
band  of  the  Old  First  Church.  Again  in  1834  after  a  protracted 
meeting  on  the  Plain,  more  than  100  came  into  church  member- 


316  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ship,  including  many  men  and  women  who  became  influential  in 
the  community.  Similar  results  followed  the  four  days'  meetings 
in  1850,  when  James  Gallaher,  formerly  Chaplain  in  Congress, 
portrayed  with  dramatic  power  the  careers  of  David  and  Absalom; 
one  later  incident  of  which  was  the  expansion  which  made  neces- 
sary the  colonizing  of  the  South  Church.  The  religious  interest 
of  1858,  which  extended  over  all  New  England,  brought  consider- 
able increase  to  the  churches  here.  In  1875  came  the  notable 
wave  of  religious  uplift  which  none  who  witnessed  it  will  ever 
forget. 

THE    GREAT   AWAKENING   OF    1875 

Under  auspices  of  the  State  Committee  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
meetings  were  held  February  6,  1875,  at  the  Town  Hall  Sunday 
afternoon,  and  in  the  evening  at  the  South  Church.  H.  M.  Moore 
of  Boston  and  R.  K.  Remington  of  Fall  River,  laymen,  were  prin- 
cipal speakers.  It  was  at  once  apparent  that  deep  interest  was 
awakened,  and  this  continued  so  manifestly  that  three  weeks  later, 
these  brethren,  at  our  request,  returned,  accompanied  by  F.  O. 
Winslow  of  Boston  and  S.  E.  Bridgman  of  Northampton.  Sunday 
meetings  were  held  at  the  Avenue  House  Hall,  and  at  the  South 
Church,  and  at  the  latter  place  Monday  afternoon  and  evening  ;  a 
thousand  people  were  in  attendance.  On  Tuesday  forenoon  the 
wheels  of  the  scale  factory  were  stopped,  men  crowded  into  the 
machine  shop  where  the  voice  of  prayer  and  song  superseded  the 
hum  of  machinery.  In  the  evening  there  were  1200  people  at  the 
South  Church  and  140  rose  to  say  that  they  had  begun  the 
Christian  life.  The  interest  continued,  union  meetings  were  held 
thrice  a  week  in  the  different  churches,  usually  conducted  by  lay- 
men, almost  every  one  present  taking  some  brief  part.  Half-hour 
noon  meetings  were  begun,  which  continued  several  years.  On 
the  27th  of  March,  Moore,  Remington,  Winslow  and  Littlefield 
came  again,  on  invitation ;  large  assemblies  met  at  the  Avenue 
House  Hall,  at  North  and  South  Churches  ;  also  next  day  at  the 
Universalist  Church,  which  was  filled,  deep  interest  being  mani- 
fest. In  the  evening  of  Monday,  March  28,  there  were  1400 
people  crowding  the  Academy  Hall  and  passage-ways  and  300 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  317 

more  in  room  No.  10  ;  more  than  100  rose  for  prayers.  During 
the  next  six  weeks  there  was  a  steady,  quiet  continuance  of  the 
revival  spirit,  which  received  a  fresh  impulse  by  the  return  once 
more,  when  urgently  invited,  of  the  Massachusetts  brethren. 
This  was  on  Sunday,  the  8th  of  May.  Neither  North  nor  South 
Churches  could  contain  the  crowds  that  flocked  to  the  evening 
meeting,  and  Academy  Hall  was  again  the  place  of  assembly.  On 
Monday,  another  gospel  meeting  was  held  at  the  Scale  factory, 
and  in  the  evening  some  1500  people  were  together  again  at  the 
Academy,  where,  as  so  often  before,  large  numbers  gave  ex- 
pression to  their  interest  or  their  purpose  to  live  a  Christian  life. 
These  and  similar  scenes  during  the  year  following  will  be 
forever  memorable  in  the  history  of  our  town.  The  whole  atmos- 
phere of  the  place  seemed  charged  with  religious  feeling  ;  no  one 
questioned  the  immense  reality  of  spiritual  forces  that  were  so 
distinctly  transforming  men's  lives  and  lifting  the  standards  of 
thought  and  conduct  in  the  community.  The  religious  life  stood 
out  as  a  manly  thing  to  be  manfully  followed ;  the  dominant  note 
was  not  so  much  the  old  time  solemnity,  as  the  joy  of  opportunity, 
the  cheer  of  the  good  news  to  every  man.  Everybody  was  sing- 
ing the  bright  "Winnowed  Hymns,"  and  repeating  cheer-inspiring 
verses  from  the  Bible.  Gospel  meetings,  so  called,  with  a  lay 
brother  in  the  chair,  were  a  popular  attraction  ;  there  was  no  dis- 
tinction of  church  or  creed;  all,  as  in  apostolic  times,  were  "con- 
tinuing daily  with  one  accord  in  fellowship  together  and.  in  pray- 
ers, with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  praising  God  and  hav- 
ing favor  with  all  the  people."  Like  the  friends  from  Massachu- 
setts who  had  left  their  business  to  bring  messages  to  us,  laymen 
of  this  town  went  out  in  bands  of  two  to  five,  holding  gospel 
meetings  not  only  in  the  school  districts  but  in  near  or  distant 
towns  ;  the  influence  of  the  religious  uplift  here  was  extended  for 
a  hundred  miles  around,  and  left  its  permanent  mark  on  this  com- 
munity. 

YOUNG   MEN'S    CHRISTIAN   ASSOCIATION 

On  the  first  day  of  October,  1855,  the  St.  Johnsbury  Associa- 
tion was  formed,  21  men  signing  the  by-laws,  the  first  clause  of 


318  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

which  is  "We  whose  names  are  hereunto  affixed  agree  to  asso- 
ciate ourselves  together  for  the  purpose  of  doing  ourselves 
and  others  good."  This  was  among  the  first  in  New  England, 
for  as  yet  such  Associations  had  only  been  known  four  years 
in  America.  Meetings  were  held  in  private  houses  to  begin 
with,  then  in  the  Academy  and  the  church  vestries.  Reorganiza- 
tion was  made  on  a  broader  basis  in  1858  with  41  new  members  ; 
and  again  in  1867,  at  which  time  a  reading  room  was  opened  and 
a  lecture  course  established  which  with  passing  years  became 
famous.  The  first  general  secretary,  Charles  H.  Sage,  was  en- 
gaged in  1882 ;  he  was  succeeded  in  1885  by  Charles  L.  Page, 
and  in  1888  by  E.  N.  Folsom.  In  1885,  Prof.  Henry  Fairbanks 
erected  the  brick  building  on  Eastern  Avenue,  the  western  section 
of  which  was  donated  to  the  Association  with  the  condition  that  a 
general  secretary  should  always  be  employed.  A  public  hall, 
reading  room,  gymnasium,  parlor  and  boys'  room  were  thus  pro- 
vided. 

With  the  additional  facilities  an  impetus  was  given  to  the 
various  activities  of  the  Association.  Twelve  committees  were 
annually  appointed  and  work  within  and  without  the  building  was 
forwarded.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  it  appeared  that  581  relig- 
ious meetings  had  been  held,  about  100  of  them  outside  the 
building,  the  total  attendance  of  which  was  10,020.  Some  1500 
friendly  calls  were  made,  32,700  leaflets  and  periodicals  were  dis- 
tributed. In  1890  the  record  of  attendance  on  religious  meetings 
was  4540,  on  concerts  and  socials  4910,  on  gymnasium  classes 
2609,  on  the  lecture  course  8000.  There  were  9710  invitations 
and  circulars  given  out,  outside  meeting  were  maintained  at  the 
jail,  almshouse  and  school  districts,  and  many  men  were  helped 
to  find  employment.  Later  years  showed  a  gradual  falling  off  in 
the  number  and  variety  of  these  activities,  and  the  outlook  at  the 
opening  of  the  new  century  was  not  auspicious. 

In  July  1907,  as  the  result  of  a  fifteen  days'  whirlwind  cam- 
paign a  popular  subscription  of  $27,653.60  was  raised  to  put  the 
Association  on  a  more  comfortable  basis.  The  number  of  sub- 
scribers to  this  fund  was  1245,  and  a  notable  feature  was  the  fact 
that  all  classes,  races,  creeds,  and  ages,  participated  heartily  in  it. 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  319 

Of  the  money  thus  raised  $6500  went  to  lift  the  mortgage  on 
Music  Hall,  $9000  was  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  the  eastern 
section  of  the  building  ;  and  the  remainder  was  laid  out  in  recon- 
struction, putting  in  bowling  alleys,  finishing  off  18  dormitories 
on  the  upper  floor,  and  adding  various  improvements.  This  gave 
the  Association  a  plant  surpassed  by  none  in  the  State  for  size  and 
appointments.  Shortly  after,  the  Mystic  Club  transferred  its 
property  to  this  building,  and  the  upper  hall  was  fitted  up  as  a 
billiard  room.  There  is  a  small  library  and  about  forty  current 
periodicals  in  the  reading  room.  Evening  classes  have  been 
provided  in  languages,  commercial  studies  and  other  subjects,  in 
addition  to  the  regular  Bible  classes.  Something  like  200  men 
and  boys  frequent  the  building  each  day.  The  average  member- 
ship of  the  Association  has  been  from  two  to  three  hundred ;  in 
1912  it  reached  500,  but  a  good  many  failed  to  pay  their  dues,  and 
the  final  list  fell  considerably  below  that  figure. 

The  Woman's  Auxiliary,  organized  in  September,  1882, 
numbered  during  the  first  year  224  members,  with  Music,  Flower, 
Reception  and  Room  Committees.  Important  services  have  been 
rendered  by  this  Auxiliary  in  furnishing  the  rooms,  providing  en- 
tertainment and  in  various  ways  furthering  the  work  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

a  forty-years'  lecture  course 

The  Lecture  Course  inaugurated  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  1858, 
and  re-established  in  1867,  brought  in  an  annual  series  of  lectures 
and  concerts  of  exceptional  merit  and  distinction.  It  has  been 
repeatedly  remarked  by  non-residents  that  no  other  town  of  its 
size  in  New  England  has  had  so  many  distinguished  speakers  and 
musicians  as  this  little  village  among  the  hills.  Thro  the  gener- 
ous patronage  of  citizens  it  was  possible  to  secure  talent 
of  the  first  order ;  this  was  true  during  the  years  when  churches 
and  Town  Hall  were  the  only  places  of  assembly  ;  after  the  ac- 
quisition by  the  Association  of  Music  Hall  in  1884,  there  was  a 
rising  tide  in  the  popular  interest,  every  seat  in  the  Hall  being 
taken.  Preliminary  sales  of  course  tickets  were  held  at  which 
premiums  were  paid  for  the  choice  of  seats  ;    in  1885  there  were 


320 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


280  seats  bid  off  at  prices  ranging  from  twenty-five  cents  to  $1.75, 
the  total  of  premiums  being  $201.44 ;  this,  with  the  cost  of  tickets, 
brought  in  over  $1000,  which  amount  in  the  open  sale  of  tickets 
later  was  increased  to  $1500.  The  next  year  the  total  sales  were 
$1800.  In  1889  they  were  $2404,  of  which  $1904  was  realized  at 
the  premium  sale.  In  1900,  the  premiums  paid  for  seats  were 
$388  ranging  from  two  dollars  a  seat  to  half  a  dollar,  the  latter 
price  not  reached  till  midnight.  The  value  of  seats  purchased 
that  night  was  $2800,  increased  by  sales  the  next  day  to  $3788. 
During  these  years  the  Association  netted  something  like  $500  on 
the  course,  in  1891  it  was  $800  ;  this  profit  was  held  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  course  in  later  less  profitable  years.  Among  the  men 
who  have  appeared  on  this  course  are 


Henry  Ward  Beecher 
Robert  Collyer 
John  B.  Gough 
Edward  Everett  Hale 
Fr.  McNamara 
E.  H.  Chapin 
Phillips  Brooks 
Matthew  Simpson 
Chaplain  McCabe 
Lyman  Abbott 
Dr.  Gunsaulus 
O.  P.  Gifford 
Russell  H.  Con  well 
Joseph  Cook 
Booker  Washington 


Henry  M.  Stanley 
George  Kennan 
Robt.  E.  Peary 
Lieut.  Danenhower 
Paul  Du  Chaillu 
Gen.  Lew  Wallace 
Dr.  Hayes,  Arctic 
Gen.  Jos.  Hawley 
Gen.  Joshua  Chamberlin 
Gen.  Gordon  of  Ga. 
Col.  H.  B.  Sprague 
John  D.  Long 
Geo.  R.  Wendling 
Marshall  P.  Wilder 
Leland  T.  Powers 


Horace  Greeley 
Carl  Schurz 
Col.  Higginson 
Frederick  Douglass 
Jacob  Riis 
Justin  McCarthy 
Frederick  Villiers 
Max  O'Rell 
George  Macdonald 
Geo.  W.  Curtis 
Will  Carleton 
Geo.  W.  Cable 
Robt.  J.  Burdette 
Bayard  Taylor 
Thomas  Nast 


The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  course  has  brought  to  this  town  the  highest 
class  of  musical  entertainments  by  nearly  all  the  leading  concert 
companies  and  solo  singers  that  have  been  in  New  England,  in- 
cluding'the  Germania,  the  Hungarian,  the  Beethoven,  the  Mendels- 
sohn, the  Weber,  the  Leistmann,  the  Schubert  and  many  more. 
Mme.  Camilla  Urso  was  here  in  1875,  and  Remenyi  in  1883. 


XXV 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO 


PUBLIC    LIBRARY— ART   GALLERY — MUSEUM   OF    NATURAL  SCIENCE 
— SUNSET   HOME— HOSPITALS. 


THE    ST.    JOHNSBURY   ATHEN^UM 


"To   encourage   studies   in   literature   and   art   the   Emperor   Hadrian 
founded  an  institution  which  he  named  the  Athenasum." 

On  the  27th  day  of  November,  1871,  the  Athenaeum  build- 
ing: was  opened  to  the  public  and  formally  presented  to  the 
town  by  Mr.  Horace  Fairbanks.  A  deep  and  wide  spread  popu- 
lar interest  culminated  in  that  event.  And  with  good  reason,  for 
it  was  the  inauguration  of  a  new  order  of  things.  At  that  time 
there  was  not  a  town  library  in  this  part  of  the  state,  nor  was 
there  any  where  in  Vermont  a  public  library  with  provision  made 
for  its  perpetual  maintenance,  or  with  a  building  so  costly  and 
well  equipped.  In  a  true  sense  the  St.  Johnsbury  Athenaeum  had 
the  distinction  of  being  a  pioneer  in  its  field ;  it  antedated  the 
Carnegie  era  by  something  like  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  building  was  designed  by  Architect  J.  D.  Hatch  of  New 
York ;  Lambert  Packard  was  the  builder  ;  in  style,  finish  and  con- 
tents it  was  intended  to  embody  the  finest  ideals  possible  at  the 
time.  About  8000  volumes  were  installed  as  a  beginning,  which 
number  in  process  of  time  was  considerably  more  than  doubled. 
The  selection  of  the  books  had  been  with  the  advice  of  W.  F.  Poole, 
the  bibliographer,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  in  superior  bind- 


322  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ings  were  imported  from  London.  At  that  date  American  book- 
binding had  not  reached  its  present  standard.  A  correspondent 
of  the  Springfield  Republican  somewhile  later  remarked:  "These 
books  are  as  judiciously  selected,  as  costly  and  as  handsomely 
bound  as  can  be  found  in  any  gentleman's  private  collection. 
With  their  bright  colors  and  gilding  they  give  a  splendor  to  the 
book  shelves  which  I  venture  to  say  cannot  be  seen  in  any  public 
library  in  the  country.  The  founder  of  this  library  believes  that 
the  handsomer  and  costlier  the  books,  the  less  they  will  be  in- 
jured by  the  borrower."  Time  has  changed  the  aspect  of  the 
bookshelves  ;  the  brightness  is  gone,  books  now  are  not  so  pleas- 
ing to  the  eye,  but  they  are  in  freer  circulation  and  every  one  has 
the  privilege  of  entertaining  himself  at  will  amongst  them,  where- 
as at  first  no  book  could  be  taken  from  the  shelf  except  by  the 
attendant. 

The  public  opening  of  the  Athenaeum  was  preceded  by  three 
addresses  on  successive  evenings  delivered  in  the  Hall,  which  was 
filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  first  by  Andrew  E.  Rankin  Esq., 
was  on  the  educational  importance  of  the  library  as  a  school  of 
learning  and  culture  ;  the  second  by  Lewis  O.  Brastow,  then  pas- 
tor of  the  South  Church,  on  the  dignity  and  worth  of  refined  liter- 
ature ;  the  third  by  Edward  T.  Fairbanks,  was  a  colloquy,  in 
which  Bion,  Mago  and  Quelph  talking  together  while  inspecting 
the  alcoves  and  dipping  into  the  pages  of  the  books,  gave  an  outline 
description  of  the  treasures  here  stored  for  the  use  of  the  people. 

At  this  point  the  donor  modestly  spoke  the  few  words  of 
presentation.  "It  was  early  a  much  cherished  purpose  of  mine  to 
place  at  the  disposal  of  the  citizens  of  this  town  in  my  life 
time,  a  free  public  library.  *  *  *  My  fullest  expectations  will  be 
realized  if  now,  and  in  coming  years,  the  people  make  the  rooms  of 
the  Athenaeum  a  favorite  place  of  resort  for  patient  research,  read- 
ing and  study."  Judge  Poland,  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  citizens, 
said  in  part:  "This  gift  is  one  of  singular  munificence.  By  it  the 
donor  has  opened  a  fountain  of  learning  whose  stream  will  flow  on 
thro  all  time.  *  *  *  The  people  appreciate  the  gift ;  the  only 
reward  we  can  offer  is  to  use  it  well."  Several  hundred  people 
spent  the  next  hour  passing  thro  the  building  exchanging  congrat- 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO  323 

ulations.  On  the  day  following  was  held  a  reception  for  children 
of  the  town  ;  from  that  day  to  this  they  have  been  appreciative 
visitors.  They  quickly  learn  where  to  find  what  they  want,  and 
the  output  of  juvenile  books  during  recent  years  has  been  fully  a 
third  of  the  entire  circulation.  Care  is  used  in  securing  a  good 
variety  of  attractive  and  useful  books  for  young  readers. 

The  Art  Gallery  was  not  completed  till  1873.  The  installing 
of  Bierstadt's  Domes  of  the  Yosemite  as  its  central  feature  ranked 
this  at  once  among  foremost  fine  art  collections.  New  York 
papers  deprecated  its  consignment  to  the  obscurity  of  a  remote 
village  in  Vermont ;  the  people  who  live  in  this  obscurity  are 
nevertheless  quite  capable  of  appreciating  the  dignity  it  lends  to 
their  small  village.  About  fifty  other  paintings  by  recognized 
artists,  also  statues  and  medallions  were  added,  and  the  Gallery 
with  these  adornments,  with  its  high  glass  dome  and  spacious 
polished  floor  made  a  place  of  unique  attraction  for  people  to  re- 
sort to.  On  every  New  Year's  eve  while  Governor  Fairbanks 
lived,  the  building  was  opened  for  a  general  reception  to  which 
everybody  was  invited.  The  cheery  throngs  of  citizens,  the 
brightly  lighted  Gallery  with  its  fresh  works  of  art,  the  orchestral 
music,  the  profusion  of  conservatory  bloom  and  greenery,  crown- 
ed with  the  very  hearty  welcome  of  the  host  and  his  family,  made 
these  occasions  memorable  for  their  novelty,  attractiveness  and 
social  privilege. 

The  Athenaeum  Hall  was  intended  to  be  auxiliary  to  the  edu- 
cative use  of  the  library.  Series  of  popular  lectures  of  special 
interest  were  provided  :  Dr.  John  Lord  gave  ten  which  are  now 
included  in  his  Beacon  Lights  of  History  ;  Prof.  John  Fiske  gave  a 
course  on  American  History;  Prof.  W.  D.  Gunning  a  series  on  the 
Life  History  of  our  Planet.  Lectures  and  concerts  have  been 
given  under  auspices  of  our  home  institutions.  The  Hall  was  de- 
signed to  serve  the  public  benefit  only,  and  no , entertainment  for 
personal  profit  has  ever  been  admitted. 

The  combination  of  library  and  reading  room  with  art  gallery 
and  lecture  hall  rendered  appropriate  the  adoption  of  the  name 
athen^um,  as  indicating  more  than  book  and  periodical  collec- 
tions.     The  name  was  from  the  first  welcomed  as  felicitous :  it 


324  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

was  not  then  suspected  what  surprising  variations  it  was  capable 
of,  more  than  a  score  of  which  have  been  delivered  by  the  post- 
man, such  as 

The  St.  Johnsbury 

Anthewalum  Athenhatura  Antheatoreum 

Atneam  Antentum  Athenasem 

Athemene  Athalneum  Anthebacum 

not  to  mention  other  ingenious  combinations.  Quite  as  inter- 
esting and  curious  variations  have  been  evolved  from  the 
titles  of  books  called  for.  when  knighthood  was  in  flower 
has  become  a  nocturnal  romance  entitled  When  Midnight  was  in 
Bloom,  the  marble  faun,  published  in  England  as  the  trans- 
formation, was  still  further  transformed  here  into  The  Stone 
Deer.  Henry  Drummond's  most  popular  book  was  happily  en- 
titled  THE    GREATEST  THING   IN    THE    WORLD;    the    author    WOUld 

surely  have  greeted  with  an  appreciative  smile  the  lad  who  one 
day  came  into  the  Athenaeum  and  said  he  wanted  The  Best  Thing 
Out. 

In  1902  the  library  was  re-classified  and  card-catalogued  ac- 
cording to  the  decimal  system  ;  about  20,000  volumes  are  now  on 
the  shelves ;  the  aim  has  been  to  get  the  best  that  could  be  had 
in  every  department,  books  of  standard  and  permanent  value, 
both  for  entertainment  and  for  serious  study  ;  for  practical  refer- 
ence work  this  library  has  exceptional  advantages.  The  annual 
circulation  is  about  31,000,  the  average  daily  output  is  less  than 
100,  but  on  Saturdays  it  may  be  300.  Registration  for  book  cards 
began  November  29,  1871,  since  that  time  13,440  cards  have  been 
issued.  The  first  card  was  made  out  to  the  Town  Clerk,  P.  D. 
Blodgett ;  the  only  survivor  of  those  whose  names  stand  regis- 
tered on  the  first  page  is  Henry  C.  Ide,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Spain. 
The  first  entry  on  the  Athenaeum  guest  book  is  the  autograph  of 
a  Russian  merchant,  Mr.  Block  of  Moscow,  who  was  here  inspect- 
ing the  Fairbanks  Scale  Works ;  thro  his  agency  scales  in  great 
numbers  have  been  distributed  throughout  the  Russian  Empire. 
Receptions  were  given  in  the  Art  Gallery  to  Henry  M.  Stanley 
shortly  after  his  memorable  march  thro  the  Dark  Continent,  to 
George  Kennan  with    Siberian    shackles    in  his    hand,    to   Com- 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO  325 

mander  Peary  and  his  arctic  dogs.  From  the  east  balcony  and 
steps  of  the  Athenaeum,  President  Harrison  in  1891,  and  Pres- 
ident Taft  in  1912,  addressed  the  thousands  of  their  fellow  citizens 
who  stood  fronting  the  building. 

The  life  size  portrait  of  Governor  Fairbanks  that  hangs  above 
the  mantel  was  presented  by  citizens  of  the  town  in  July,  1874 ; 
for  this  the  artist  Matthew  Wilson  of  New  York  was  paid  $1000. 
The  marble  bust  in  the  Art  Gallery,  also  a  gift,  was  by  the  sculp- 
tor J.  Q.  A.  Ward  of  New  York. 

Librarians— William  W.  Thayer,  Charles  W.  Willard,  Mrs. 
Abbie  M.  McNeil,  Miss  Louise  L.  Bartlett,  Edward  T.  Fairbanks. 
For  26  years  Mrs.  Ella  S.  Truax  has  been  first  assistant.  The 
building  is  open  from  nine  to  nine  o'clock  on  each  week  day  ex- 
cept Wednesday  evenings,  also  on  Sunday  afternoons.  About 
sixty  periodicals  are  on  file  in  the  reading  room. 

THE    MUSEUM   OF   NATURAL    SCIENCE 

An  interesting  event  of  the  Fourth  of  July  of  1890  was  the 
laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Museum.  Judge  Ross  presided; 
songs  were  sung  by  children  of  the  public  schools  ;  a  felicitous 
address  was  given  by  Hon.  Henry  C.  Ide;  the  formality  of  apply- 
ing square  and  level  and  announcing  that  the  stone  was  properly 
laid  was  by  Mrs.  Franklin  Fairbanks.  A  year  and  a  half  later,  on 
the  evening  of  December  15, 1891,  the  dedication  of  the  institution 
took  place  in  Music  Hall,  which  was  filled  with  a  most  appreciative 
audience.  After  the  chanting  of  the  nature-psalm  148,  by  the  Ma- 
hogany Quartet,  the  presentation  remarks  were  made  by  Col. 
Franklin  Fairbanks,  who  expressed  the  hope  that  this  institution 
might  be  the  means  of  awakening  a  deeper  interest  in  the  com- 
mon things  of  the  world  around  us,  also  that  by  affiliation  with 
the  public  schools,  stated  instruction  in  nature  study  might  be 
had,  and  thus  result  a  "higher  and  larger  knowledge  of  the  things 
of  God's  creation  which  lie  all  about  us,  too  often  a  sealed  book." 

The  address  of  acceptance  was  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lamson  ; 
he  spoke  of  the  Library  and  the  Museum  as  two  brothers;  "one 
giving  to  us  the  thoughts  of  men,  the  other  the  thoughts  that  fill 
the  world  of  created  things.     This  institution  will   increase  the 


326  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

value  of  life  in  the  country  village  ;  from  it  the  common  life  and 
work  will  receive  the  touch  of  the  scientific  spirit."  A  dedication 
ode  written  by  Dr.  Lamson  was  rendered  by  the  Quartette,  after 
which  the  principal  address  of  the  evening  was  given  by  Presi- 
dent Buckham  of  Burlington.  In  closing  he  remarked,  "As  this 
is  the  best  equipped  Museum  of  Natural  Science  in  the  state,  it 
will  naturally  attract  visitors  and  students  from  all  sections  and 
become  a  center  of  scientific  study.  We  who  are  interested  in  all 
good  learning  and  all  institutions  that  promote  it,  give  congratu- 
lations on  the  establishment  of  this  one,  of  which  our  state  has 
reason  to  be  proud,  from  which  we  may  expect  great  and  lasting 
benefits  to  the  interests  of  education,  science  and  religion  among 
our  people. " 

From  Music  Hall,  the  audience  repaired  to  the  Museum, 
where  opportunity  was  given  for  congratulations  and  inspecting  the 
collections.  From  that  day  to  the  present  time  this  has  been  the 
place  most  desired  and  used  for  public  receptions,  for  which  it  is 
especially  adapted,  by  reason  of  the  beauty  of  the  building,  the 
variety  of  interesting  objects  on  every  side,  and  the  long  reach 
of  its  floors,  covering  nearly  10,000  square  feet. 

The  collections  are  at  once  recognized  as  being  of  a  quite  su- 
perior order,  not  surpassed  as  to  quality  anywhere.  They  include 
New  England  flora,  birds  and  insects  nearly  complete  ;  about  100 
varieties  of  humming  birds ;  the  beautiful  birds  of  paradise  and 
flamingo  groups  ;  large  numbers  of  quadrumana  headed  by  the 
bison  and  the  moose  ;  all  specimens  housed  under  glass.  Miner- 
als, ores,  gems,  crystals  number  several  thousand;  shells,  corals 
and  birds  eggs  are  particularly  choice  ;  coin  and  stamp  collections 
are  valuable ;  also  the  ethnological  exhibit  of  implements  of  war 
or  domestic  life  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  the  Colonial  room 
are  articles  of  considerable  local  interest ;  china,  glass,  pewter, 
loom  and  spinning  wheels,  old  time  farm  implements,  and  vehicles 
among  which  is  the  wagon  made  Mr.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks  in 
1815.  During  the  season  of  bloom  the  flower  tables  are  supplied 
each  day  with  fresh  wild  flowers  properly  labeled;  there  have 
been  seen   here   at   one    time  12  varieties  of  violets  and  14  of 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO  327 

goldenrods.      A  similar  bird  calendar  marks  the  arrival  of  the 
migratory  birds  in  the  spring. 

The  educational  work  of  the  Museum  is  of  high  practical  im- 
portance. There  is  a  valuable  library.  The  public  school  pupils 
with  their  teachers  meet  once  a  month  by  grades  in  the  class 
room,  where  instruction  is  given  in  a  wide  range  of  nature  topics, 
illustrated  by  specimens.  For  identification  of  birds  and  trees 
there  are  bird  walks  in  the  spring,  and  annual  tests  with  prizes 
given.  This  institution  is  regularly  represented  in  the  anniver- 
saries of  the  National  Museums  Association,  and  other  similar 
bodies,  and  intelligent  visitors  from  all  parts  of  the  country  have 
ranked  it  as  in  many  ways  a  model  of  its  kind.  It  was  amply  en- 
dowed by  the  founder.  Directors— Miss  Martha  G.  Tyler,  Tracy 
E.  Hazen,  Miss  Delia  I.  Griffin,  Miss  Alice  W.  Wilcox. 

SUNSET   HOME    1893 

Under  legislative  charter  granted  the  week  preceding,  the 
"Home  for  Aged  Women  of  St.  Johnsbury"  was  organized  De- 
cember 4,  1892,  with  a  board  of  five  Trustees  of  whom  Rev.  C.  M. 
Lamson  was  made  President.  Measures  were  immediately  taken 
for  the  acceptance  of  property  which  had  been  offered  as  a  gift. 
This  included  the  house  and  lot  on  Prospect  street  formerly  the 
home  of  Judge  Poland.  On  January  3,  1893,  this  was  transferred 
to  the  Trustees  aforesaid  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Isabel  Poland 
Cushman  of  Boston.  Suitable  repairs  and  alterations  were  made 
and  the  Home  was  opened  for  applicants  in  the  spring  of  1893. 
The  admission  fee  was  fixed  at  $100  and  remained  such  for  six- 
teen years  ;  finally  it  became  necessary  to  increase  it,  and  in  1909 
the  admission  was  made  $200  for  residents  of  St.  Johnsbury  and 
$500  for  non-resident  women.  The  average  number  cared  for  in 
the  Home  has  been  five  or  six ;  the  capacity  is  limited  to  seven. 

The  management  of  the  Home  is  committed  to  the  board  of 
Lady  Visitors,  usually  twelve  in  number,  representing  different 
parishes ;  who  appoint  the  Matron  and  supervise  all  matters  of 
detail.  They  have  also  originated  many  devices  for  replenishing 
the  treasury  ;  the  literary  course  in  Athenaeum  Hall,  the  Mer- 
chants' Carnival,  the  McLaughlin  ball  games,  food  sales  and  festi- 


328  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

vals.  By  an  act  of  Legislature  in  1898,  the  alternate  name  and 
legal  title  of  sunset  home  was  granted  to  the  institution  ;  this 
felicitous  designation  was  suggested  by  Miss  Welthea  Glines,  a 
woman  of  bright  intelligence  and  culture  whose  last  days  were 
happily  spent  in  the  Home. 

ST.    JOHNSBURY   HOSPITAL    1895 

Though  the  need  of  a  hospital  had  long  been  agitated  by 
physicians  and  others,  our  town  was  indebted  to  Rev.  Father 
Boissonnault  for  the  first  actual  accomplishment  in  this  direction. 
With  this  in  view  he  purchased  the  Dr.  Perkins  property,  con- 
verted the  buildings  into  a  temporary  housing  for  the  sick  ;  then 
moved  it  off  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  St.  Johnsbury  Hos- 
pital, the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  Sunday,  May  5,  1895. 
Two  thousand  spectators  were  present,  among  them  four  hundred 
children  with  banners,  flags  and  emblems.  There  were  addresses 
in  French  and  English,  and  gifts  amounting  to  $400  were  taken 
on  the  spot.  The  work  of  construction  was  pushed  to  completion 
during  the  summer  and  fall ;  the  building,  a  graceful  structure  of 
brick,  stood  forty  by  sixty  feet  on  the  ground,  with  capacity  for 
fifteen  patients,  afterward  increased  to  twenty-one.  Its  cost  was 
$10,000. 

On  Thanksgiving  Day,  November  28,  1895,  the  Sisters  of 
Providence,  from  Montreal,  took  possession,  and  the  formal  open- 
ing was  held.  There  were  at  that  time  no  suitable  furnishments ; 
young  women  of  the  parish  brought  in  articles  from  their  homes 
and  fitted  up  a  number  of  rooms  for  the  occasion  to  give  some 
idea  of  what  would  be  needed.  Cake  and  coffee  were  served 
gratuitously,  and  generous  contributions  were  made  by  visitors, 
increased  by  very  considerable  gifts  made  later.  The  efforts 
made  to  establish  this  institution  were  fully  justified  by  the  pat- 
ronage it  has  ever  since  received.  As  time  went  on  valuable  ad- 
ditions were  secured  to  the  equipment,  especially  to  the  operating 
room  and  its  adjuncts.  The  Sisters  in  charge,  1912,  were  nine  in 
number,  and  with  them  six  regular  nurses  ;  Sister  John  of  Cal- 
vary being  Supervisor.  One  of  the  well  remembered  incidents  at 
the  dedication  of  the  new  Brightlook  Hospital  in  1908,  was  the 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO  329 

graceful  message  of  good  wishes  from  the  Sisters  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  Hospital,  which  was  cordially  reciprocated. 

BRIGHTLOOK   HOSPITAL   1899 

Twenty-three  citizens,  of  whom  fourteen  were  resident  physi- 
cians, formed  in  January  1899,  an  Association  to  found,  maintain 
and  operate  a  Hospital  in  St.  Johnsbury.  The  corporate  name 
adopted  was  Brightlook.  There  was  no  money  in  sight,  nor  as 
yet  any  well  defined  plan,  but  a  good  deal  of  determination.  In 
response  to  appeals  setting  forth  the  proposition,  funds  were 
raised  by  popular  subscription,  sufficient  to  make  a  beginning. 
The  brick  building  that  was  formerly  the  executive  mansion  of 
Gov.  Erastus  Fairbanks  was  offered  for  temporary  use  on  a  favor- 
able lease ;  the  offer  was  accepted,  necessary  alterations  made, 
and  furnishments  secured.  On  a  pleasant  evening  in  June  a 
thousand  people  assembled  on  the  lawn  under  electric  lights  and 
flags  for  the  dedicatory  exercises.  At  this  time  it  appeared  that 
about  $1400  had  been  contributed  for  equipments,  and  $1000  was 
being  raised  for  maintenance  the  first  year.  The  beginnings 
were  hopeful  under  the  inspiring  leadership  of  Rev.  Dr.  Heath ; 
time  and  experience  however  proved  that  the  location  was  unfa- 
vorable, the  building  inadequate,  and  funds  for  continuing  the 
enterprise  there  not  obtainable.  A  crisis  was  arrived  at  in  Jan- 
uary 1905,  when  a  deficit  of  $700  blocked  further  continuance. 

A  citizens'  meeting  was  called  at  the  Museum  to  determine 
the  sentiment  and  desire  of  the  people.  The  situation  being  ex- 
plained the  deficit  was  immediately  wiped  out,  and  steps  taken 
for  a  forward  movement. 

Then  came  from  a  woman  a  gift  of  $5000  for  a  new  build- 
ing, on  condition  that  $10,000  additional  be  raised  on  or  be- 
fore January  1908.  Already  a  nest-egg  of  one  dollar  for  a  new 
Hospital-building-fund  had  been  deposited  by  a  woman  in  Pas- 
sumpsic  Savings  Bank,  followed  up  by  her  personal  trips  around 
the  County  to  secure  funds  and  friends  for  the  project.  This 
original  one  dollar  had  increased  to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and  the 
$5000  promised,  in  due  time  had  the  required  $10,000  added  to  it. 
The  old  Reservoir  Hill  was  then  purchased  and  the  noble  building 


330  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

known  as  the  New  Brightlook,  begun  in  1907,  was  completed  and 
dedicated  March  14,  1908,  throngs  of  interested  spectators  filling 
the  corridors  and  stairways.  Addresses  were  made  by  Frank  H. 
Brooks,  the  President,  by  Dr.  Gile  of  Hanover,  Lieut.  Gov.  Prouty, 
Dr.  E.  H.  Ross,  Alexander  Dunnett ;  a  statement  from  the  Hos- 
pital Aid  Association  was  made  by  the  President,  Mrs.  Rebecca  P. 
Fairbanks  ;  a  reminiscence  in  verse  by  Mrs.  Dr.  Brooks.  It  ap- 
peared that  $25,000  had  been  expended  on  this  new  plant,  and 
two  years  later  the  total  expenditure  for  construction  and  approved 
equipment  had  reached  $35,051.90.  At  the  shore  dinner  given  by 
the  Doctors  on  the  Fair  Ground  October  1,  1909,  an  offer  of  $5000 
from  an  adjoining  town,  started  a  vigorous  canvass  for  the  bal- 
ance needed  to  extinguish  the  existing  debt  of  $8,500.  This  was 
quickly  secured  and  the  burden  lifted. 

The  Hospital  Aid  Association  was  organized  with  sixty-five 
women  in  July  1899  ;  the  membership  in  later  years  rose  to  near- 
ly 300.  This  was  from  the  first  an  important  factor  in  the  growth 
and  success  of  the  Hospital,  not  only  rendering  aid  in  many  mis- 
cellaneous ways,  but  during  the  first  ten  years  providing  in  money 
and  equipment  $7200 ;  on  the  tenth  year  $1010  was  passed  into 
the  treasury.  The  rooms  of  Brightlook  were  all  furnished  by  in- 
dividuals or  by  societies ;  the  tall  clock  on  the  stair  landing 
commemorates  the  name  of  Dr.  Selim  Newell,  widely  known  in  his 
day  as  one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  of  this  region. 

The  Training  School  for  Nurses  gives  a  two  year  course  for 
young  women  in  anatomy,  physiology,  hygiene,  massage,  medi- 
cal and  surgical  dressing.  The  lecturers  are  our  resident  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  whose  services  in  this  department  are 
gratuitous ;  a  large  number  of  nurses,  well  equipped  and  com- 
petent, have  been  graduated.  During  the  year  1912  there  were 
447  patients  treated;  324  of  these  were  surgical  cases  ;  an  average 
number  per  day  was  twenty ;  six  nurses  were  graduated  and  four- 
teen remained  in  training. 

Foundations  for  a  large  building  to  be  used  for  a  nurse's 
home  with  a  central  heating  and  power  plant  in  the  basement, 
were  laid  in  1912,  toward  which  special  gifts  and  bequests  of 
$9240  were  appropriated.     This  building,  completed  at  a  cost  of 


PRO  BONO  PUBLICO  331 

$33,000  was  dedicated  March  14,  1914  ;  by  vote  of  the  trustees  it 
was  that  day  named,  from  the  principal  donor — the  Rebecca  P. 
Fairbanks  Home  for  Nurses.  The  total  amount  of  gifts  to  the 
Brightlook  buildings  and  equipments,  is  not  far  from  $80,000. 

THE    DISTRICT   NURSE 

"And,  with  light  in  her  looks,  she  entered  the  chambers  of  sickness." 

Impressed  with  the  importance  of  providing  relief  for  needy 
families  in  times  of  sickness,  the  Woman's  Club  in  1905  appropri- 
ated $86  for  the  employment  of  a  District  Nurse.  Her  duties 
were  to  visit  and  render  professional  assistance  to  those  who  were 
most  in  need,  irrespective  of  religious  or  other  affiliations.  The 
results  were  so  gratifying  and  so  much  appreciated  that  this  ar- 
rangement has  been  regularly  continued  by  the  Woman's  Club 
and  at  the  March  meeting  of  1911,  the  voters  of  the  town 
signified  their  approval  by  an  appropriation  of  $300,  which  has 
been  renewed  each  succeeding  year.  This  money  is  paid  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  Woman's  Club  and  administered  by  the  Social 
Science  Committee  of  that  body.  Mrs.  Emma  P.  Houston-Bald- 
win has  served  from  the  beginning  in  this  capacity  with  evident 
good  will  and  tactfulness,  and  incalculable  relief  has  been  ren- 
dered among  people  in  sickness  and  distress. 


XXVI 


MUSICAL 

"As  sweet  and  musical  as  bright  Apollo's  lute" 


STORY  OF  THE  BELLS — THIRTEEN  CHURCH  BELLS—MUSIC  AND 
MUSICIANS — ORGAN  BUILDING — A  COPPER  ON  THE  VIOL — 
FAMOUS  CHOIR — THE  CHORAL  UNION — MUSICAL  FESTIVALS — 
PUBLIC  HALLS. 


BELLS 

"How  soft  the  music  of  those  evening  bells" 

"Bells  have  been  sadly  neglected  by  antiquarians."  Haweis. 

"There  seems  to  be  something  satisfying  to  the  soul  in  the  sound  of  a   Bell ; 
it  is  a  good  ear-filling  sound  that  is  always  dear  to  man." 

"There  is  no  Musick  play'd  or  sung 
Is  like  good  Belles  if  well  Rung." 

Forty-six  years  passed  before  the  ear-filling  sound  of  a  bell 
was  heard  in  this  town.  On  the  14th  of  November,  1833,  the 
pioneer  bell  was  hung  in  the  tower  of  the  Meeting  House  on  the 
Plain.  Some  letters  of  that  period  have  been  found  which  give 
entertaining  particulars  of  the  Bell  Fair  held  at  the  tavern  to  raise 
funds  for  its  purchase  as  recorded  on  page  210.  About  $127  were 
taken  at  this  Fair,  which  amount  was  increased  the  next  day  to 
$200  and  five  days  later  an  order  for  the  bell  was  sent  to  Boston. 


MUSICAL  333 

It  required  ten  days  or  more  for  the  slow-going  teams  to  get  it 
here,  and  when  at  last  they  pulled  it  up  Lord's  Hill  at  the  south 
end  of  the  Plain,  it  was  Sunday  !  This  was  held  by  some  to  be 
an  untoward  circumstance,  condoned  however  it  may  be,  by  the 
fact  that  the  bell  hereafter  might  make  up  for  past  irregularities 
by  faithfully  sounding  the  call  to  public  worship. 

It  was  carefully  hoisted  into  the  tower  some  days  later,  in  the 
presence  of  an  interested  throng  of  young  and  old,  for  this  was 
an  event  of  considerable  consequence.  Its  weight  was  800  pounds. 
George  Barney  was  appointed  bell-ringer,  and  if  at  any  time  he 
didn't  care  to  retain  the  honor,  some  of  the  Fair-women  would 
put  their  hands  to  the  rope.  Disappointment  was  felt  at  Fair- 
banks Village  that  the  stroke  of  the  bell  could  not  be  heard  in 
that  low  lying  hamlet.  After  some  further  manipulation  however 
the  sound  was  gotten  down  there,  but  'twas  said  that  what  they 
heard  was  not  the  direct  report  from  the  bell,  but  the  echo  reflect- 
ed back  from  Crow  Hill. 

The  bell  was  promptly  set  at  work,  and  had  busy  times 
during  the  first  years.  There  were  four  stated  bell-ringings  each 
day ;  the  first  announced  the  arrival  of  6  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  second  9  o'clock,  the  third  12  o'clock,  the  fourth  9  o'clock 
evening.  The  occurrence  of  a  death  in  the  community  was  made 
known  by  "the  passing  bell;"  thrice  three  strokes  for  a  man, 
twice  three  strokes  for  a  woman,  three  strokes  for  a  child.  This 
usage  with  the  tolling  at  the  burial,  continued  till  after  the  middle 
of  the  century ;  revived  once  in  1886,  when  the  patriarch  of  the 
village,  Sir  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  was  borne  past  the  South 
Church. 

That  first  bell  hung  in  its  tower  doing  good  service  till  1847, 
when  the  meeting  house  under  it  was  moved  down  the  street  to 
the  old  burial  ground,  to  make  way  for  a  new  building;  the  same 
that  afterward  was  converted  into  Music  Hall.  At  that  time  the 
bell  was  given  to  the  Methodist  Church  in  North  Concord,  where 
it  continued  ringing  till  its  career  as  a  bell  was  terminated  in  a 
striking  manner  while  proclaiming  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender  at 
Appomattox.  Its  jubilant  peals  on  that  occasion  proved  too  much 
for  its  metal,  and  thereafter  it  hung  a  disabled  bell  on  its  pivots 


334  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

till  July  1896,  when  it  was  purchased  by  C.  H.  Horton  for  the 
Fairbanks  foundry,  and  there  converted  into  scale  beams.  In  its 
original  bell  estate  it  summoned  men  to  the  place  where  stand- 
ards of  just  dealing  were  rigidly  insisted  on ;  now  in  its  wider 
world  parish  it  holds  men  to  the  same  standards  set  to  the  poise 
of  a  St.  Johnsbury  scale  beam. 

In  1842  a  bell  was  mounted  on  the  East  Village  meeting 
house,  which  had  been  built  two  years  before.  This  bell,  paid  for 
by  subscriptions  amounting  to  $269.56,  was  selected  by  Calvin 
Morrill  in  Boston,  brought  up  on  horse  teams,  and  hung  by  David 
Lee,  who  won  repute  thereby  as  a  skillful  bell-hanger.  In  length 
of  activity  this  appears  to  be  the  dean  of  bells,  no  other  in  the 
town  having  rung  so  many  years.  "The  dear  old  bell,"  said 
Mr.  Morrill,  among  his  last  words,  "keep  it  always  ringing." 

The  vote  of  the  Universalist  Society  in  1837  to  build  a  meet- 
ing house  at  the  Center  Village,  included  the  specification  of  "a 
belfry  sufficient  to  carry  a  bell  of  the  heft  of  1000  lbs."  The 
house  was  erected  the  following  year,  and  it  seems  probable  that 
the  belfry  aforesaid  received  its  bell  in  1843,  for  in  January,  1844, 
Jonas  Flint  and  Thomas  Pierce  were  appointed  "a  committee  to 
see  to  the  ringing  of  the  bell."  This  bell  continued  ringing  for 
33  years,  till  the  conflagration  of  1876  put  an  end  to  its  career. 

Fifty  one  years  after  the  raising  of  the  Old  Meeting  House  on 
the  hill,  and  nine  years  after  its  re-erection  on  its  present  founda- 
tion in  the  Center  Village,  the  people  of  the  Congregational 
Church  procured  the  bell  which  has  now  been  ringing  57  years 
from  its  tower.  It  was  hung  in  the  summer  of  1855  and  such  was 
the  interest  in  the  occasion  that  the  village  school  was  allowed  an 
intermission  for  the  privilege  of  seeing  the  bell  lifted  to  its  place. 
It  is  now  the  only  church  bell  in  the  Center  Village. 

When  the  second  North  Church  building  was  erected  in  1847, 
a  new  bell  was  installed.  Its  weight  was  2500  lbs.,  and  the  key 
was  F.  For  some  reason  the  ringing  of  this  bell  used  to  shake 
the  steeple  unreasonably ;  moreover  within  five  years  a  crack  ap- 
peared on  the  rim  which  did  not  improve  its  resonance.     In  due 


MUSICAL  335 

time  it  went  the  way  of  a  certain  old  bell  in  Britain  of  which  the 
story  says 

4 '  This  Belle  was  broake  and  cast  againe. ' ' 

For  in  1852  the  South  Church  being  then  in  process  of  erec- 
tion, it  was  determined  to  divide  the  bell,  now  that  the  congrega- 
tion had  been  divided.  Accordingly  it  was  sent  to  the  Meneeley 
foundry  and  enough  more  metal  added  to  make  two  new  bells. 
One  of  these  twin  bells,  1500  lbs.  weight,  Key  of  G,  was  mounted 
in  the  South  Church  belfry  where  it  still  rings  the  stated  appoint- 
ments and  also  tolls  the  hours  on  the  village  clock,  which  was 
installed  in  1853.  The  other  twin  bell,  1300  lbs.,  Key  of  A,  re- 
mained on  the  North  Church  till  its  conversion  into  Music  Hall 
twenty-nine  years  later. 

In  September  1874,  a  bell  was  placed  on  the  Methodist  Church. 
Its  weight  was  1400  lbs.,  Key  of  E;  the  cost  was  met  by  a  gen- 
eral subscription.  This  bell  would  have  been  satisfactory  had  it 
been  the  only  one  on  the  Plain.  But  it  was  constitutionally  un- 
fitted to  agree  well  with  its  neighbors.  In  April  1875,  it  was 
exchanged  for  a  bell  that  would  harmonize  better  with  the  tones 
of  other  bells  which  were  ringing  around  it.  "This  exchange 
was  effected  by  the  efforts  of  a  well  known  citizen  who  undoubt- 
edly shouldered  the  principal  expense ;  and  the  result  now  is  an 
audible  token  of  the  harmony  prevailing  among  the  churches  of 
the  village."  The  cost  of  this  bell  was  $900  of  which  one  hun- 
dred dollars  was  paid  by  the  Village  Trustees  for  the  right  of 
attaching  to  it  the  fire  alarm.  This  bell  is  on  the  Key  of  F  and 
weighs  2100  lbs. 

In  May  1876,  Col.  F.  Fletcher  presented  a  bell  of  1000  lbs. 
weight  to  the  Advent  Church  in  Paddock  Village. 

On  Sunday,  July  2,  1876,  three  new  bells  were  consecrated 
for  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame.  The  service  pertaining  to  that 
ceremony  was  chanted  by  the  choir,  after  the  bells  had  been  wash- 
ed with  water,  anointed  with  oil,  and  perfumed  with  incense. 
The  pastor,  Rev.  J.  A.  Boissonnault,  was  master  of  ceremonies. 
Bell  No.  1,  inscribed  Notre  Dame  des  Victories,  was  presented  by 
the  congregation.    No.  2,  inscribed  Johannes  Antonius,  was  given 


336  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

by  Pastor  Boissonnault.  No.  3,  inscribed  GeorgiusW.  (Washing- 
ton) was  the  gift  of  some  "American  friends,"  non-Catholic  citi- 
zens. This  was  the  first  Catholic  cluster  of  three  bells  in  the 
State. 

When  the  new  stone  edifice  of  the  North  Church  was  com- 
pleted in  1880,  a  bell  of  3004  lbs.  weight,  Key  of  E  flat,  was 
mounted  October  14  in  the  high  Gothic  tower.  This  bell  was  the 
gift  of  two  of  the  members  of  the  church ;  it  is  the  heaviest 
church  bell  in  northeastern  Vermont ;  it  bears  the  incription 

"Unto  you,  O  men,  I  call ; 
And  my  voice  is 
To  the  sons  of  men" 

a  voice  of  deep  and  mellow  tones,  "ear-filling,  satisfying  to  the 
soul." 

At  the  present  time  there  are  seven  bells  in  the  village  and 
nine  in  the  town  that  regularly  ring  from  the  church  belfries.  The 
lines  that  follow  are  anonymous. 

ST.  JOHNSBURY  SABBATH  BELLS 

How  grandly  the  big  bells  open  their  throats, 
On  the  blessed  Sunday  morning, 
From  Our  Lady's  tower  the  Angelus  floats 
To  welcome  the  early  dawning. 
Then  the  North  bell  shouts  "Praise," 
And  the  South  replies  "Peace," 
While  the  Wesleyan  sings  "Pardon." 
Oh  !  Bells  !  keep  up  your  holy  conversation, 
Some  listening  ear  may  gather  inspiration. 
St.  Johnsbury,  July  11,  1909 

The  Academy  bell  was  hung  in  the  fall  of  1872 ;  a  special 
salute  was  given  it  by  David  J.  Foster,  afterward  Congressman, 
in  his  Latin  Salutatory,  June  23, 1876.  This  marked  the  final  stage 
of  progress  from  the  old  dinner  bell  that  Principal  Colby  used  to 
shake  at  the  open  window  in  the  early  years  of  the  Academy. 

There  are  bells  on  the  public  schoolhouses  of  East,  Center 
and  Paddock  villages,  Goss  Hollow  and  the  Summer  street 
building ;  also  on  St.  Gabriel's,  the  parochial  school  for  boys. 


MUSICAL  337 

In  September,  1895,  the  Village  Trustees,  with  concurrence 
of  the  County  Judges,  placed  the  heavy  fire  alarm  bell  in  the 
tower  of  the  Court  House. 

The  old  bell  that  used  to  ring  the  men  to  their  work  in  the 
Scale  Factory,  from  six  to  six  o'clock,  long  since  gave  way  to  the 
steam  gong ;  it  is  sitting  restfully  now  in  the  Museum,  which 
building  stands  on  the  spot  where  bell-ringer  Armington  lived  in 
the  days  when  he  used  to  pull  the  rope  on  it. 

MUSIC  AND  MUSICIANS 

"And  Jubal  was  the  father  of  all  such  as  handle  the  harp  and  the  organ." 

Coming  down  from  days  before  the  flood  to  early  times  in 
our  own  town,  it  may  be  said  that  Ephraim  Paddock  was  the 
father  and  promoter  of  music  in  this  "community.  He  was  profi- 
cient with  stringed  instruments,  and  only  six  years  after  Jonas 
Chickering  had  made  the  first  piano  in  America  one  of  his  pianos 
was  installed  in  the  Paddock  Mansion;  this  instrument  has  sur- 
vived and  is  now  owned  by  A.  L.  Bailey ;  a  letter  of  instructions 
in  Mr.  Chickering's  handwriting  is  also  in  the  possession  of  Mrs. 
Emma  Paddock  Taylor.  Charlotte  Paddock,  daughter  of  the 
Judge,  and  John  H.  Paddock  his  nephew,  were  highly  accomplish- 
ed musicians  ;  the  latter  was  the  first  and  for  many  years  the  only 
organist  in  the  town  ;  also 

"Full  well  the  far-off  echoes  knew  his  bugle  notes" 

indeed  no  instrument  could  have  escaped  the  witchery  of  his 
touch,  whether  it  were  "cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery  and 
dulcimer"  or  any  other.  In  a  small  room  over  what  is  now  the 
Bundy  store,  John  Paddock  and  T.  J.  Park  in  1841  constructed 
an  organ  which  was  set  up  and  used  in  the  old  meeting  house  till 
the  new  house  was  built  six  years  later,  after  which  it  went  to 
Lyndon ;  they  also  made  an  organ  for  the  Old  Brick  Bethany 
Church  in  Montpelier. 

The  mother  of  John  H.  Paddock  was  Orris  Fuller,  also  of  a 
musical  family.  Gratton  and  Joseph  Fuller  were  the  original  in- 
ventors of  the  screw  head  for  bass  viols.      "I  set  myself  to  think- 


338  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ing,"  said  Gratton  "how  to  improve  the  old  peghead.  I  put  a  copper 
cent  on  the  viol  and  imagined  that  to  be  a  cog-wheel  such  as 
were  in  the  old  wooden  clock  reels.  My  brother  Joseph  made  a 
pattern  for  the  screw  and  turned  it  out  down  at  the  Paddock  iron 
works,  then  we  adjusted  it  to  the  viol,  and  found  it  a  great  im- 
provement." That  viol  was  bought  years  afterward  by  Henry 
Lee  and  is  preserved  as  a  historic  relic. 

There  was  a  famous  choir  that  filled  the  gallery  of  the  old 
meeting  house  of  1827 ;  it  included  Levi  Fuller  and  the  Paddocks, 
T.  J.  Park,  Selim  Frost,  Francis  Bingham,  George  and  Horace 
Fairbanks,  H.  K.  Flint,  John  Barney,  Maria  Barney,  Mrs.  Curtis, 
Helen  Martin,  Jane  Martin,  Julia  Fairbanks,  Eliza  Bingham, 
Sarah  Jewett,  and  many  more  whose  family  names  were  long 
familiar  in  the  town.  The  instruments  in  use  before  the  organ 
came,  were  bass  viol,  cornet  or  clarionet,  and  the  spectacle  of  so 
large  a  chorus  spread  along  the  west  gallery  was  impressive  to 
one  coming  in  at  the  east  door ;  old  fashioned  turkey  red  curtains 
were  strung  on  wires  across  the  front. 

At  a  later  period  Charles  Martin,  C.  H.  Clarke,  S.  A.  Ellis, 
W.  H.  Herrick  were  music  leaders  ;  the  latter  was  both  choir  mas- 
ter and  leader  of  the  cornet  band,  and  was  in  the  regimental  band 
of  the  Third  Vermont.  Mr.  Clarke  with  John  H.  Paddock  and 
John  O.  Worcester  established  the  St.  Johnsbury  Academy  of 
Music,  where  for  some  years  opportunity  was  given  for  instruc- 
tion in  music  of  the  very  highest  order ;  this  continued  till  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  when  Mr.  Clarke  entered  the  cavalry 
service  as  bugler  and  lost  his  life  in  Virginia.  Alexander  Thomp- 
son organized  the  Mechanics  Musical  Association  in  1854 ;  the 
same  year  a  popular  musical  convention  was  held  by  Lowell 
Mason  in  the  South  Church ;  others  were  held  in  later  years  by 
B.  F.  Baker,  C.  W.  Wyman  and  Geo.  F.  Root.  Special  attention 
was  paid  to  the  cultivation  of  congregational  singing,  and  awak- 
ening interest  in  music  among  the  young  ;  audiences  of  1000  peo- 
ple were  at  these  conventions. 

Boston  and  other  cities  have  drawn  away  some  of  St.  Johns- 
bury's  sweetest  singers  :  Mrs.  Jennie  Ide  Turner,  Mrs.  Homer 
Sawyer,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Ellis,  Mrs.  Annie  Glines  Porter,  Mrs.  Lizzie 


MUSICAL  339 

Curtis  Chandler,  more  recently  Mrs.  Emma  Shufelt  Moore.  Dr. 
George  R.  Clark  of  Boston,  basso,  was  one  of  our  well  known 
singers  ;  others  were  A.  O.  Baker,  David  Morrison,  N.  P.  Dodge, 
H.  C.  Kinney,  N.  P.  Lovering,  J.  H.  Humphrey,  the  Atwood 
brothers  ;  also  Harry  H.  May,  eighteen  years  musical  director  in 
the  South  Church  and  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  conductor 
of  singing  schools.  The  Mahogany  Quartette,  formed  in  1888, 
was  justly  famous  in  this  and  other  towns  for  some  fifteen  years, 
W.  C.  Tyler,  P.  F.  Hazen,  E.  A.  Silsby,  F.  H.  Brooks.  A  con- 
temporary that  won  much  favor  was  the  Cecilian  Quartette — 
Misses  Ellen  Ely,  Mabel  Goodwin,  Ida  Penniman,  Edith  Hovey. 

In  1878  was  organized  The  Choral  Union  with  a  main  design 
of  providing  annual  musical  conventions  of  a  high  order.  The 
first  one,  held  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  was  conducted  by  Dr. 
Carl  Zerrahn  of  Boston,  with  Mrs.  Martha  Dana  Shepard  accom- 
panist. The  Town  Hall  was  packed  to  overflowing  during  the 
sessions  and  great  interest  awakened.  This  was  the  first  of  a 
series  of  Choral  Festivals  of  two  or  three  days  each,  held  inter- 
mittently for  more  than  twenty  years,  which  filled  the  Town  Hall 
and  Music  Hall  with  enthusiastic  audiences.  At  times  the  chorus 
numbered  more  than  200,  and  oratorios  like  the  Elijah  and  the 
Creation  were  rendered  with  distinction,  For  some  years  Mrs. 
Shepard  presided  at  the  piano,  and  later  our  home  born  pianists, 
B.  Frank  Harris  and  Miss  Margaret  Gorham  ;  solo  parts  were 
taken  by  singers  of  note  from  Boston  or  New  York.  On  these 
occasions  our  community  became  familiar  with  the  music  of  such 
masters  as  Mendelssohn,  Hadyn,  Handel,  Mozart,  Gounod,  Sulli- 
van, Schubert,  Rossini,  Donizetti  and  others,  under  the  leadership 
of  accomplished  directors  like  Zerrahn  and  Blaisdell.  The  capa- 
bilities of  home  talent,  so  called,  were  successfully  demonstrated 
in  the  rendering  of  the  Cantata  Esther  by  40  voices,  W.  H.  Her- 
rick,  director,  1883  ;  also  the  Pirates  of  Penzance,  1886,  and  H. 
M.  S.  Pinafore  in  1890. 

There  has  rarely  been  a  time  when  this  town  has  not  had  a 
good  instrumental  band.  In  1830  it  was  the  Brass  Band  f  in  1838 
it  was  the  St.  Johnsbury  Band;  in  1855  it  was  the  Serenade 
Band  ;  in  1859  it  was  the  Cornet  Band  ;    in  intermediate  years  it 


340  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

has  been  variously  named  as  well  as  manned  ;  and  in  1912,  by  the 
union  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  and  the  Harmony,  it  became  the  Con- 
solidated Band  of  St.  Johnsbury  and  was  paid  $1000  a  year  by  the 
village,  for  services  on  public  occasions  and  the  series  of  summer 
evening  concerts  given  from  the  out-door  band  stands. 

PUBLIC   HALLS 

The  south  room  of  Dr.  Arnold's  house  was  the  first  place 
used  for  gatherings  of  any  sort  in  the  town.  For  seventeen  years 
all  town  meetings  were  held  in  dwelling  houses,  barns  or  taverns. 
The  old  Meeting  and  Town  House  on  the  hill,  erected  in  1804, 
provided  a  more  suitable  place  for  political  and  patriotic  as  well 
as  religious  assemblies  for  the  next  twenty-five  years.  In  1827 
the  Meeting  House  on  the  Plain  was  built  and  much  use  was 
made  of  it  for  lectures  and  public  addresses.  After  1844,  the  old 
Academy  was  available  for  similar  purposes  to  some  extent. 
Singing  schools,  which  were  an  important  feature  of  the  winter 
evenings,  were  usually  conducted  in  the  schoolhouses ;  fairs  and 
festivals  were  gotten  up  in  the  tavern  halls,  the  principal  use  of 
which  was  for  dances. 

Union  Hall,  It  was  not  till  the  town  was  in  its  sixty-eighth 
year  that  a  public  hall  for  rental  as  such  was  provided — Union  Hall, 
so  called,  on  the  third  floor  of  the  new  Union  Block,  corner  of 
Main  and  Central  streets.  All  the  lumber  of  this  block  was 
bought  in  Canada  at  $8  a  thousand ;  the  owners  wanted  their 
land  cleared,  and  sold  at  that  price.  From  the  day  of  its  opening, 
November,  1854,  this  hall  was  in  continuous  demand  for  enter- 
tainments and  social  functions  of  all  sorts.  It  was  also  used  for 
religious  gatherings ;  the  first  regular  services  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  were  in  this  hall.  On  the  opposite  side  of  Main  street  a 
cosy  hall  of  limited  capacity  was  opened  over  E.  F.  Brown's 
store.  Small  societies  or  gatherings  met  here  ;  for  some  while  it 
was  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hall ;  the  half-hour  noon  meetings  of  1876- 
1878  were  held  in  this  place. 

The  Town  Hall,  in  the  Court  House  building,  opened  in  the 
winter  of  1856,  was  a  great  acquisition  for  public  functions.     Polit- 


MUSICAL  341 

ical  rallies,  caucuses,  lectures,  exhibitions,  promenade  concerts, 
musical,  dramatic  or  social  entertainments/fairs  and  levees  made 
this  new  hall  a  center  of  varied  attractions.  It  was  regarded  as 
all  sufficient  for  the  present  and  future  uses  of  the  public.  But  in 
a  dozen  years  or  more  the  question  of  another  and  more  adequate 
village  hall  began  to  be  talked  about. 

It  was  pointed  out  one  time  that  on  Friday,  March  2,  the 
Town  Hall  was  in  use  for  organizing  the  St.  Patrick  Society  ;  on 
Saturday  for  the  Morrison-Bean  Concert ;  on  Tuesday  for  Town 
Meeting  ;  on  Thursday  and  Friday  for  the  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture ;  and  on  four  days  of  the  next  week  for  a  musical  festival. 
Some  of  those  Choral  Union  Conventions,  conducted  by  Carl  Zer- 
rahn  with  full  orchestra  and  Mrs.  Shepard  at  the  piano,  filled  this 
hall  from  day  to  day  with  enthusiastic  audiences.  For  twenty- 
eight  years,  1856  to  1884,  this  was  the  only  hall  for  general  public 
uses  on  the  Plain. 

During  the  fifties  there  was  an  attractive  little  hall  in  Fair- 
banks Village,  over  the  old  store  that  was  burned  in  1889.  Lec- 
tures and  social  events  made  this  a  pleasant  resort ;  in  the  early 
days  of  the  South  Church,  Sunday  evening  services  were  regularly 
held  here,  with  audiences  that  usually  filled  the  hall. 

The  AthencBum  Hall,  opened  in  1871,  was  intended  to  be  used 
for  educative  purposes  only,  and  without  expense  to  the  public. 
Courses  of  lectures  were  provided  on  literary  or  scientific  themes 
to  which  everybody  was  made  welcome.  In  more  recent  years 
entertainments  for  the  benefit  of  our  home  institutions  have  had 
use  of  this  hall ;    nothing  for  personal  profit  has  been  admitted. 

The  New  Academy  Hall  was  dedicated  October  31,  1873,  at 
which  time  1250  persons  were  counted  in  attendance.  Tho  de- 
signed for  school  purposes  only,  this  hall  was  occasionally  opened 
when  large  audiences  were  expected.  On  its  platform  Remenyi 
drew  out  the  subtle  strains  of  his  violin  and  Gough  gave  his  inimi- 
table recitals.  For  several  years  the  concerts  given  by  the  grad- 
uating class  filled  the  hall;  here  also  commencement  exercises 
were  held,  and  the  crowded  gospel  meetings  of  the  seventies. 


342  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Music  Hall.  The  need  of  a  large  and  well  appointed  hall 
was  becoming  more  urgent.  Several  unsucessful  attempts  were 
made  to  secure  funds  for  such  a  building.  The  problem  was 
finally  solved  by  an  unanticipated  event. 

In  1877,  the  building  in  which  the  North  Church  had  wor- 
shiped for  thirty  years  was  moved  across  Church  street  to  make 
way  for  the  new  stone  building.  That  structure  with  the  site  on 
which  it  was  planted  had  been  purchased  by  Messrs.  Horace  and 
Franklin  Fairbanks.  In  1883,  they  made  a  proposition  to  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  to  present  to  that  institution  a  deed  of  the  property  pro- 
vided funds  should  be  raised  sufficient  to  finish  and  equip  the 
building  for  a  public  hall.  The  offer  was  accepted,  $14,000  was 
subscribed  by  about  200  citizens,  and  on  November  20,  1884, 
Music  Hall  was  opened.  The  spacious  auditorium  with  balconies 
on  the  rear  and  two  sides,  well  lighted  and  tastefully  decorated, 
furnished  with  1102  comfortable  chairs  was  an  immense  improve- 
ment on  anything  that  had  as  yet  been  seen  and  gave  occasion 
for  many  congratulations.  On  the  arch  over  the  platform  was 
printed  a  simple  and  pleasing  bit  of  decorative  work,  the  musical 
score  of — "Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot."  The  design  of 
the  remodeled  structure  was  drawn  by  Lambert  Packard,  the 
builder  was  W.  J.  Bray,  the  decorating  was  done  by  Lyndon 
Arnold. 

The  inauguration  concert  was  a  musical  entertainment  of 
high  quality,  given  by  the  Ladies'  Club  of  eleven  voices  led  by 
Mrs.  P.  F.  Hazen,  and  a  men's  chorus  of  forty  voices,  accompa- 
nied by  the  full  orchestra,  William  H.  Herrick,  leader.  The  next 
evening  an  auction  sale  of  tickets  for  the  winter  Lecture  Course 
yielded  about  $1000  which  amount  was  doubled  by  purchasers  dur- 
ing the  next  ten  days.  For  many  years  this  process  was  continued 
and  the  annual  courses  of  lectures  and  musical  entertainments  pro- 
vided by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  given  in  Music  Hall  gained  distinc- 
tion throughout  the  state.  A  partial  list  of  speakers  is  given  on 
page  320.  At  the  present  time  this  Hall  is  leased  under  the  name 
of  The  Colonial  Theatre. 

Avenue  House  Hall.  On  the  fourth  floor  of  the  old  Avenue 
House  was  a  large  and  pleasant  Hall  which,  until  the  burning  of 


MUSICAL  343 

the  building  in  1896,  met  the  many  and  various  requirements  of 
public  assemblies  in  that  part  of  the  village.  Many  of  the  popu- 
lar gospel  meetings  of  1876  were  held  here,  and  some*  while 
afterward  it  became  the  regular  meeting  place  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Howe's  Opera  House.  This  fine  building  was  erected  by  B.  G. 
Howe  in  1891,  as  an  adjunct  to  the  Avenue  House  of  which  he 
was  then  proprietor.  Its  cost  was  $30,000.  The  auditorium  with 
galleries  on  three  sides  was  fitted  with  seats  of  modern  style  for 
1500  people.  The  orchestra  floor  sloped  toward  the  stage,  which 
was  63  feet  long  by  32  deep,  furnished  with  all  requisite  stage  ac- 
cessories ;  two  boxes  at  either  end.  The  decorations  and  general 
aspect  were  pleasing.  For  some  years  this  Opera  House  did  a 
good  business,  principally  as  a  theatre ;  but  the  expenses  of  its 
maintenance  were  large  ;  it  finally  passed  with  the  Avenue  House 
into  the  hands  of  M.  J.  Caldbeck;  then  the  roof  was  lowered  into 
the  auditorium  and  the  building  was  devoted  entirely  to  apart- 
ments for  rental. 

Stanley  Opera  House.  The  old  skating  rink  on  Central  street 
built  in  1881  by  Eels  and  Eddy  of  Brattleboro,  was  used  for  vari- 
ous purposes  other  than  roller  skating,  which  continued  for  some 
years  at  the  height  of  popularity.  In  March  1893,  it  was  bought 
by  Charles  A.  Stanley  who  converted  it  into  what  was  thereafter 
known  as  the  Stanley  Opera  House,  with  requisite  stage  appoint- 
ments for  dramatic  purposes.  The  seats  being  removable  it  was 
also  used  for  dances,  spreads  and  miscellaneous  assemblies. 
Among  the  many  banquets  given  here  was  that  of  the  semi-cen- 
tennial of  the  Academy,  also  of  the  welcome  given  to  the  Vermont 
Association  of  Boston.  It  was  used  by  Company  D  for  a  drill 
room — equipment  quarters  being  on  the  upper  floor — from  1898 
till  the  destruction  of  the  building  by  fire  in  1910,  at  which  time 
it  was  owned  by  Elmer  E.  Darling,  who  at  once  began  the  erec- 
tion of  the  fine  brick  block  which  now  dignifies  the  spot  long  while 
notable  for  its  livery  stables  and  attendant  rookeries. 

Pythian  Hall.  Few  assembly  rooms  in  the  village  have  been 
in  such  continuous  use  since  1894  for  various  purposes  as  the  one 
which,  with  hall  and  refectory,  covers  the  entire  upper  floor  of  the 


344  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Pythian  Building.  Since  the  closing  of  the  Board  of  Trade  rooms 
in  1900  this  has  been  the  stated  meeting  place  of  the  Woman's 
Club  inhere  also  are  held  most  of  the  public  functions  of  the  Com- 
mercial Club,  banquets  of  societies  and  assemblies  of  various 
interests,  social,  literary,  musical,  educational,  political. 

Bertrand's  Hall.  In  1909,  J.  E.  Bertrand  erected  the  substan- 
tial brick  building  on  upper  Railroad  street  which  serves  the 
double  purpose  of  an  armory  and  a  public  hall.  The  assembly 
room  for  the  Guards  on  the  basement  floor  fronting  east  is  20  by 
20  feet,  adjoining  which  are  baths,  culinary  arrangements  and 
lockers  for  military  equipments.  The  street  floor  hall,  80  by  50 
feet,  clear  of  posts,  with  parlors  on  either  side,  is  considered  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  state  for  its  purposes.  At  the  opening  ball 
January  7,  1910,  there  were  450  people  assembled,  including  Gov. 
Prouty  with  his  staff,  Adj. -Gen.  Gilmore  and  other  state  officials. 

St.  Agnes  Hall.  After  the  removal  of  the  Notre  Dame  con- 
gregation to  the  new  stone  edifice,  the  building  formerly  occupied 
was  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the  parochial  and  convent  schools. 
When  these  schools  had  been  established  in  their  own  buildings  it 
was  converted  into  a  hall  used  by  the  Foresters,  the  St.  Jean 
Baptiste  and  other  organizations.  In  1911,  final  alterations  were 
made  including  equipment  for  baths,  gymnastics  and  library;  it 
received  the  name  of  St.  Agnes  Hall,  and  is  principally  used  as 
the  Club  room  of  the  French  Catholic  Association. 


XXVII 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND  REMINISCENT 


POOUSOOMPSUK— BIBLE  HILL — 6000  FEET  UP — SITS  QUEEN — 
FROM  A  BELFRY— REMINISCENCES — THE  STRANGER  WITHIN 
THE    GATES. 


THE    RIVER   POOUSOOMPSUK 


"From  far  Michisconi's  wild  valley,  to  where 
Poousoompsuk  steals  down  from  his  wood-circled  lair' ' 

Clear-Running-Water  is  the  interpretation  given  to  the  Algon- 
quin word  Poousoompsuk.  No  doubt  the  water  ran  clearer  in  the 
primeval  time  when  the  Indian  shot  his  canoe  down  its  full  stream, 
than  in  these  new  days  of  dams,  mill-refuse  and  promiscuous 
sewage.  The  fall  of  the  river  in  its  nine  mile  course  thro  the 
center  of  the  township  is  sufficient  to  supply  valuable  water 
powers  at  five  points,  viz :  Pierce's  Mills,  Center  Village,  Pad- 
dock Village,  Railroad  Village,  and  Electric  Light  Station.  It  is 
spanned  by  six  substantial  bridges,  two  of  which  are  modern  steel 
structures.  On  either  side  of  the  Plain  it  receives  the  dashing 
waters  of  Moose  River  from  the  east  and  from  the  northwest  the 
sluggish  Sleeper ;  thence  flows  ten  miles  south  to  join  the  Con- 
necticut. 

Having  neither  ponds  nor  lakes  nor  mountains  of  its  own,  the 
town  looks  upon  Passumpsic  River  as  its  principal  physical  fea- 
ture, not  to  speak  of  its  value  as  a  business  asset,  particularly  at- 
tractive to  the  pioneer  settlers.     This  is   not  one  of  the  rivers 


346  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

around   which   history  or   legend   have  woven  their  spells,   tho 
Arnold  in  his  verse  of  1790  remarks  that  it 

"Oft  on  its  margin  has  beheld 

The  Sachem  and  his  tawny  train 
Roll  the  red  eye  in  vengeful  ire, 
And  lead  the  captive  to  the  fire." 

The  filling  out  of  details  he  kindly  leaves  to  our  imagination 
while  his  muse  turns  to  fields  of  ' 'yellow  wheat  and  waving  corn" 
which,  with  luxurious  hay  crops,  have  to  this  day  adorned  its 
beautiful  meadows.  , 

A  writer  of  later  date  intimates  that  trout  fishing  was  once 
not  unknown  in  these  clear  running  waters  : — 

"Passumpsic!  river  of  my  boyish  pranks, 

How  oft  upon  thy  banks 

I've  dropped  the  hook 

In  many  an  eddying  nook, 
Where  the  cool  waters  of  some  upland  brook 

Brought  the  coy  trout ; 

And  with  many  a  stout 

And  lusty  bout 
With  brave  halloo  and  shout 
I've  hauled  the  dainty  nibbler  out." 

The  progress  of  civilization  has  not  proved  attractive  to  the 
trout ;  the  stream  in  which  he  used  to  disport  himself  is  now 
populated  only  by  the  placid  sucker  and  the  undistinguished 
diminutive  dace.  One  may  still  find  however  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  sundry  objects  that  attracted  young  eyes  as  long  ago  as 
1830  :— 

"Mosses  and  violets  around  us  were  spread, 
Maples  and  lindens  waved  overhead, 

Mulberry  blossoms  with  dew-drops  wet 

Yielding  an  odor  remembered  yet ; 
Grapes  on  the  island  and  hazel-nuts  near, 
Eels  to  bait  and  suckers  to  spear, 

Clams  to  capture  and  squirrels  to  seek, 

Practice  in  swimming  most  days  of  the  week  ; 
Rocks  to  dive  from  and  stones  to  scoot, 
Slippery  elm  and  calamus  root ; 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND  REMINISCENT  347 

Stems  of  grass  with  wild  berries  strung, 
Flower  de  Luce  and  adder's  tongue, 

Reeds  for  frog-traps  and  cat-tail  darts, 

Alders  for  whistles  and  bleeding  hearts  ; 
Indian  pepper  and  checkerberry 
Horse  mint,  snake  root,  pigeon  cherry, 

Bumble  bee  honey  and  red  thorn  apple 

If  willing  with  stings  and  thorns  to  grapple. 
Pungent  twigs  of  birch  had  a  rare 
Delight  for  the  tongue,  but  all  were  aware 
They  lost  their  relish  applied  elsewhere!" 

To  this  interesting:  list  we  may  add  in  plain  prose  the  ramb- 
ling bittersweet  with  bright  red  berries  so  much  in  request  these 
days  for  Christmas  decorations,  and  the  butternut  tree  whose  nuts 
correctly  cracked  have  disciplined  many  an  untrained  thumb  and 
finger. 

The  first  white  man  known  to  have  discovered  the  Passump- 
sic  River  was  Stephen  Nash,  hunter  to  the  British  army  and 
scout  to  Major  Robert  Rogers.  When  John  Stark  the  hero  of 
Bennington  battle  was  out  on  a  hunt  in  1752,  the  Indians  caught 
him  and  brought  him  up  this  valley  to  their  encampment  at  St. 
Francis,  Canada.  Seven  years  later  Major  Rogers  exterminated 
that  Indian  village  and  led  his  spirited  rangers  down  this  same 
trail  of  the  Passumpsic  to  Round  Island  at  its  mouth,  where  most 
,  of  the  remnant  perished  of  starvation. 

THE    FIELDS    OF    BIBLE    HILL 

Among  the  highest  farms  in  our  town  are  those  on  Bible  Hill, 
two  miles  northeast  of  the  Center  Village,  from  which  nine  other 
towns  and  villages  are  visible.  This  hill  got  its  name  not  from 
its  superior  proximity  to  heaven  but  from  the  number  of  Bible 
loving  families  who  early  in  the  century  cultivated  its  slopes  and 
met  together  for  Bible  study  and  neighborhood  meetings.  On 
Sunday  mornings  Deacon  Stowell's  team  and  a  dozen  others 
might  be  seen  threading  their  way  down  the  steep  pitch  through 
the  woods  on  their  way  to  the  Old  Meeting  House.  As  late  as 
1868  the  summit  of  Bible  Hill  at  the  end  of  the  road  was  memor- 
able in  the  mind  of  one  visitor  for  the  presence  of  a  woman  of 


348  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  good  old  intelligent  religious  type,  weaving  at  her  loom  and 
recounting  her  remembrance  of  the  Bible  Hill  men  and  women  of 
former  days.  More  recent  remembrances  are  those  of  boyhood 
days  on  the  fields  of  Bible  Hill,  by  Edwin  Osgood  Grover. 

"Oh  !  the  fields  of  Bible  Hill!  Are  they  still  as  fresh  and  fair, 
As  when  I  used  to  wander  in  their  orchard-perfumed  air  ? 
Does  the  sunshine  rise  as  early  as  it  used  to  do 
When  I  waded  thro'  the  clover  and  the  cobwebs  and  the  dew  ? 
Does  the  murmur  and  the  music  of  the  little  pasture  brook 
Sound  as  sweet  today  as  when  it  was  my  singing  book  ? 
My  Bible  Hill  lay  ever  in  the  shrine  of  summer's  sun, 
And  haying  time  was  playing  time  for  work  and  play  were  one. 
There  pleasure  lurked  a  vagabond,  in  every  shady  spot, 
From  pasture  gate  down  cowpath  to  the  slippery-elm  tree  lot. 
I  never  see  an  orchard  that  is  loaded  down  with  bloom, 
I  never  catch  the  fragrant  breath,  the  subtle,  sweet  perfume 
Of  a  field  of  clover  blossoms,  or  the  scent  of  new  mown  hay, 
But  that  I  fall  to  thinking  in  a  longing  sort  of  way, 

Of  orchard  lands  and  clover  fields  my  boyish  feet  once  trod, 
Of  pasture  lanes  and  hillside  paths,  deep  fringed  with  golden  rod ; 
And,  like  a  castle  set  in  Spain,  I  seem  to  see  it  still — 
That  old  familiar  farm  house  in  the  fields  of  Bible  Hill, 
And  the  joy  the  summer  brought  me  on  the  slopes  of  Bible  Hill." 

As  a  business  man  in  the  city  Mr.  Grover  has  embodied  his 
maturer  memories  of  Bible  Hill  in  the  plain  prose  of  the  Country 
Boy's  Creed,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  says  :  "I  believe  that  life 
out-of-doors  and  in  touch  with  the  earth  is  the  natural  life  of  man. 
I  believe  that  work  is  work  wherever  we  find  it,  but  that  work 
with  Nature  is  more  inspiring  than  work  with  the  most  intricate 
machinery.  I  believe  that  opportunity  comes  to  a  boy  on  the 
farm  as  often  as  to  a  boy  in  the  city,  that  life  is  larger  and  freer 
and  happier  on  the  farm  than  in  the  town,  and  that  my  success  de- 
pends not  on  my  location  but  on  myself." 

SIX   THOUSAND  FBET  ABOVE   ST.   JOHNSBURY 

In  the  New  York  Tribune  of  October  10,  1859,  John  Wise, 
the  famous  air  man  of  that  period,  records  his  observations  of  St. 
Johnsbury  seen  from  overhead.  "In  the  midst  of  the  ballooning 
mania  with  its  perils  and  romances,   I  made  my  234th  ascension 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND  REMINISCENT  349 

as  an  embellishment  to  the  Caledonia  Agricultural  Fair  of  1859, 
at  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  It  was  an  exceedingly  pleasant  and  serene 
trip  ;  and  I  give  this  narrative  from  my  notes  taken  in  the  air.  At 
3  o'clock,  P.  M.,  Governor  Fairbanks  admonished  me  that  the  time 
for  the  ascension  was  at  hand.  In  another  minute  The  Ganymede 
was  in  proper  ballast,  the  cord  cut,  and  up  I  went  slowly,  nearly 
perpendicularly.  Having  attained  an  altitude  of  nearly  6000  feet 
in  twenty  minutes,  the  balloon  became  perfectly  still,  and  I  took 
a  general  observation  of  St.  Johnsbury  and  the  surrounding 
country. 

"What  a  world  of  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  dells — mountains 
and  hills  by  myriads  encompass  me ;  in  the  southern  horizon  a 
gallery  of  cloud-knobs  based  on  a  horizontal  stratum,  overtopping 
the  terrestrial  gallery,  like  Pelion  upon  Ossa.  Franconia  Notch 
with  its  gorge  looking  like  a  grand  causeway  to  some  submarine 
territory  is  awfully  grand.  Mount  Washington  looms  up  in  pa- 
triarchal grandeur,  like  a  father  at  the  head  of  his  national  family 
of  mountains,  hills  and  knolls.  The  confluence  of  the  Connecticut 
and  Passumpsic  Rivers  forms  a  scene  as  it  were  in  a  romance. 

"Now  the  train  of  cars  is  stopping  at  Passumpsic  to  take  a 
look  at  the  balloon.  I  hear  the  strains  of  the  brass  band  on  the 
St.  Johnsbury  Fair  Ground.  I  hope  The  Ganymede  will  remain 
poised  here  all  day.  Time  flies  with  memory's  delight.  There  is 
Stratford  Peak  which  I  was  near  coming  to  from  St.  Johnsbury 
three  years  ago.  Not  more  than  500  yards  off  it  seems,  yet  must 
be  over  twenty  miles.  I  now  see  forty-two  villages ;  lakes, 
rivers,  ponds  are  glittering  in  the  sunbeams  like  sparkling 
diamonds.  The  heavens  between  the  mountains  and  the  clouds 
are  radiant  with  the  rainbow.  The  horse  track  on  the  Fair 
Ground  looks,  in  size  and  shape,  like  an  old  fashioned  elliptical 
waiter.  The  enclosure  with  its  people  looks  like  a  bee  hive,  and 
the  Morgan  horses  coursing  around  the  track,  remind  me  of  rab- 
bits running  around  in  a  warren.  I  am  now  up  an  hour  by  the 
watch,  and  nearly  in  statu  quo  over  the  point  of  starting.  I  do 
not  want  to  drift  from  this  point  above  the  Fair  Ground." 

John   Wise. 


350  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ST.   JOHNSBURY   PLAIN    FROM    CALEDONIA   HILL 

"Upon  a  village  green 
The  flowing  hills  atween, 
Which  ancient  trees  with  grateful  shadows  fill — 
A  rare  and  rambling  town 
Of  wide  renown 
And  fairest  fame— 
St.  Johnsbury  its  name 
Sits  queen ; 
Whose  ample  villas  crown 
The  graceful  curvature  of  many  a  hill. 

"Here  out  of  noble  toil 

Has  come  the  spoil 
Of  open  handed  wealth 
Of  robust  health  ; 

Here  art  has  reared  a  shrine 
Science  a  fane. 
Here  taste  and  skill  combine, 
And  holy  ministries  of  flowers 
Make  glad  and  glorious  all  the  summer  hours. 
Here  generous  cultures  of  the  heart  and  brain 
In  loving  sisterhoods  their  greenest  laurels  twine. 

"There  towers  Burke  Mountain,  glory-crowned, 

And  Willoughby's  cleft  face 

By  distance  softened  into  grace. 
Here  sleeps  the  hamlet  in  the  strong  embrace 
Of  sheltering  hills  that  frame  the  lengthened  vale  ; 

And  sound  of  school  bells  mellowing  the  air, 

And  distant  lift  of  church  spires  moving  thoughts  of  prayer." 

Samuel  Graves,  1883. 

SEEN   FROM   THE    ACADEMY   BELL   TOWER 

"I  am  wishing,  Mago,  that  you  could  be  here  and  look  with 
me  on  some  familiar  old  places  from  this  high  outlook.  The 
Plain  is  more  embowered  in  shade  than  you  ever  saw  it,  for  in  re- 
cent years  the  trees  have  seemed  to  assert  their  ancient  right  to 
the  soil.  Except  for  the  white  church  spires  and  the  shapely  out- 
line of  the  new  Athenaeum,  you  might  half  wonder  what  pretty 
village  this  is  whose  pleasant  homes  are  so  neatly  clustered  about 
under  these  groves  of  maple  and  elm. 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND    REMINISCENT  351 

But  looking  farther  out  you  will  see  things  much  as  they  used 
to  be.  Down  from  the  east  opens  the  Moose  River  valley  along 
which  you  remember  how  merrily  the  water  ripples  over  the 
stones  on  its  way  to  join  the  more  leisurely  Passumpsic.  Here 
in  the  foreground  is  the  long  tapering  shoulder  of  Caledonia  Hill, 
dotted  with  some  red  cows  too  busy  with  grass  to  mind  the  shift- 
ing trains  and  traffic  on  the  track  below.  A  little  way  up  the 
Passumpsic  the  grove  of  Moose  Island  looks  as  if  it  floated  on 
the  water  from  the  foot  of  old  Saddleback,  whose  bare  hump 
heaves  against  the  sky.  Farther  up,  the  church  towers  of  the 
Center  Village  lift  their  square  tops  into  view,  backed  by  the 
bluffs  of  Willoughby  and  the  blue  pyramid  of  Westmore  Moun- 
tain. The  train  from  Montreal  is  winding  gracefully  around  the 
curve  of  the  river  where  the  nine  bears  were  gotten  when  Dr. 
Calvin  was  off  bear-hunting,  some  years  before  he  had  us  on  his 
hands  for  castor-oiling. 

Marble  shafts  are  glinting  in  the  sunlight  through  the  foliage 
of  Mount  Pleasant ;  to  the  left  the  towering  Old  Pine  stands 
out  inviting  attention  ;  and  there's  the  rock  where  we  carved  our 
names  when  we  were  youngsters  ;  in  the  park  at  Pinehurst  the 
deer  are  having  a  happy  time.  There  go  three  king  birds  chasing 
a  hawk  from  Crow  Hill  up  over  the  green  fields  of  the  Danville 
farms.  Above  the  smoke  of  the  Scale  Factory  the  round  top  of 
Sugar  Hill  is  blazing  with  the  bright  colors  of  the  autumn  leaves, 
and  below,  the  wheels  of  a  buggy  are  flashing  along  the  road  to 
the  Fair  Grounds. 

Looking  southward  over  the  roof  of  the  Sheepcote  which 
folds  a  contented  little  flock,  I  see  the  pointed  firs  in  the  hollow 
where  we  trapped  those  fat  gray  squirrels  in  the  fall  of  1849,  and 
on  the  left  the  glancing  waters  of  Passumpsic  River  slipping 
down  the  valley  under  the  opal  sky  that  rims  the  south  horizon. 
Now  this  writing,  Mago,  will  remind  you  of  the  scenes  of  our 
boyhood,  and  of  that  bright  September  day  when  we  went  up 
Saddleback  together  to  wave  good  bye  to  them  just  before  going 
off  to  College  nineteen  years  ago." 

Quelph  1874 


352  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

REMINISCENCES 
CONTENTED   AND   HAPPY 

"At  that  time,  1810,  neither  stage  nor  mail  coach  had  arrived 
at  St.  Johnsbury,  nor  had  the  shrill  blast  of  Trescott's  tin  horn 
awakened  the  echoes  of  those  green  hills  and  valleys ;  the  mail 
was  brought  from  Danville  once  a  week  by  a  small  boy  on  horse- 
back. The  way  to  Lyndon  led  down  the  steep  hill  to  the  bridge 
by  Arnold's  Falls  where  we  had  our  wheat  ground.  On  the  west 
bank  of  the  river  was  a  potash.  The  only  way  to  Danville  was  by 
the  Pumpkin  hills  after  crossing  a  bridge  of  logs  across  Sleeper's 
river  where  the  scale  works  now  are,  and  below  which  the  farmers 
washed  their  sheep  in  swift  running  water.  From  that  point  there 
were  thick  woods  all  the  way  to  within  a  few  rods  of  the  Plain. 
The  school  house  was  at  the  upper  end  of  the  street  and  some- 
times served  as  a  sanctuary ;  Sunday  afternoons  Miss  Hannah 
Paddock  taught  a  catechism  school  there. 

There  were  but  twelve  families  living  on  the  Plain  and  only 
six  more  came  in  during  the  next  five  years.  The  only  painted 
houses  in  the  town  were  Joseph  Lord's  at  the  south  end  and  Wil- 
lard  Carleton's  hotel,  (afterward  the  Cross  bakery.)  The  two  Dr. 
Jewetts  administered  calomel,  Carleton  mixed  toddy,  A.  D.  Bar- 
ber sold  goods,  Hubbard  Lawrence  tanned  leather,  John  Clark 
made  saddles  and  sold  a  few  small  notions,  Samuel  Crossman 
shod  horses  over  against  the  grave  yard  along  side  of  which 
William  A.  Palmer  the  young  budding  lawyer,  afterward  Gov- 
ernor, had  planted  the  row  of  small  maple  trees.  There  was  not 
one  cooking  stove  nor  carpet  nor  pleasure  wagon  on  the  Plain, 
yet  the  people  were  contented  and  happy." 

Condensed  from  letter  of  Henry  Little,  1878. 

THE   OLD   GRIST   MILL 

"On  the  20th  of  January,  1815,  my  father,  Joseph  Fairbanks, 
with  his  family  left  Brimfield  to  come  to  St.  Johnsbury.  He  had 
sold  the  Brimfield  farm  for  $1800,  this  with  the  avails  of  stock, 
tools,  etc.  may  have  given  us  the  sum  of  $2000  to  be  invested  in 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND  REMINISCENT  353 

the  new  enterprise  we  had  undertaken  in  St.  Johnsbury.  A  small 
water  power  and  mill  privilege  on  the  west  branch,  Sleeper's 
river,  was  purchased  of  Judge  Pres  West  for  $300.  On  the  ground 
was  a  rude  unfinished  house  of  three  small  rooms  having  rough 
board  floors,  and  walls  enclosed  with  rough  hemlock  boards,  the 
cracks  battened  not  very  carefully.  There  was  no  cellar,  but  we 
made  a  small  vault  eight  feet  in  the  steep  hill  side  a  few  yards 
front  of  the  house  which  answered  our  purpose. 

We  immediately  commenced  clearing  away  our  mill  grounds 
and  by  October  had  the  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  in  successful 
operation,  also  a  carriage  shop  over  the  grist  mill.  The  year 
1816  was  known  throughout  New  England  as  the  cold  sea- 
son, ice  frequently  forming  in  each  of  the  summer  months. 
Consequently  crops  were  damaged  and  suffering  was  felt  among 
the  farmers.  But  the  grist  mill  brought  us  enough  to  make  us 
comfortable,  and  furnished  a  little  for  our  neighbors.  One  case  I 
remember :  Capt.  Samuel  Hastings,  an  elderly  bachelor,  who 
lived  in  the  family  of  Capt.  Barker,  came  to  me  in  the  mill  one 
day  wanting  to  buy  a  bushel  of  wheat  for  that  family.  I  told  him 
I  couldn't  spare  it,  having  only  about  that  amount  in  the  mill. 
He  then  began  to  plead  for  it,  he  said  the  family  needed  it  and  he 
had  the  two  dollars  to  pay  for  it.  After  a  while  I  told  him  he 
might  have  half  a  bushel,  the  rest  I  must  keep  for  urgent  cases. 
He  finally  accepted  the  half  bushel  and  paid  me  a  dollar  for  it. 
Our  mills  were  well  patronized,  having  all  they  could  do  and 
yielding  a  fair  return,  and  the  carriage  shop  did  a  good  business. 
We  continued  to  live  in  the  rude  shell  of  a  house  two  winters  and 
three  summers  until  we  had  completed  a  new  two-story  house  on 
what  is  now  Western  avenue,  which  we  occupied  in  October, 
1818."  Reminiscences  of  Sir  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  1881. 

THE    PHILADELPHIAN 

From  a  manuscript  discovered  after  Chapter  XIX  was  off  the 
press  is  taken  the  following  reminiscent  paragraph  read  before 
the  Philadelphians,  January,  1830. 

"About  four  years  ago,  1826,  the  youth  of  this  village  formed 
themselves  into  a  society  under  the  name  of  the  St.  Johnsbury 


354  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Philadelphian  Society.  Our  object  was  literary  and  mental  im- 
provement, and  the  methods  adopted  were  extemporary  and 
written  compositions,  debates  and  declamations.  One  of  the  first 
things  done  was  to  secure  a  library  and  establish  a  fund  by  which 
it  might  be  augmented.  This  was  accomplished  by  contributions 
of  books  from  the  members,  by  membership  fees,  and  fines  for 
neglect  of  duties,  until  a  hundred  volumes  and  more  of  useful  and 
deservedly  popular  books  were  accumulated.  I  would  at  this 
time  suggest  that  we  consider  the  expediency  of  having  our  so- 
ciety merged  with  the  Lyceum  which  it  is  expected  will  shortly 
be  organized  in  this  place,  and  that  some  terms  be  arranged  by 
which  our  library  can  be  opened  for  the  use  of  that  institution. 

"The  number  belonging  to  our  society  has  been  small,  but 
happily  we  have  always  been  united  in  the  bonds  of  strictest 
amity ;  no  dissensions  or  party  feelings  have  arisen,  but  a  warm 
desire  to  promote  the  true  objects  of  the  society  has  prevailed. 
To  this  however  there  has  been  one  exception :  a  melancholy  in- 
stance of  expulsion.  While  deeply  regretting  the  cause  which 
made  necessary  this  removal  of  a  member,  we  are  now  cheered 
with  the  assurance  of  his  thorough  reform,  and  whether  he  shall 
be  restored  to  the  privileges  of  our  society  or  not,  it  is  my  ardent 
desire  that  none  of  us  should  ever  forget  that  he  once  was  a 
brother  with  us  and  that  we  still  treat  him  as  such."    J.  P.  F. 

BOYHOOD   DAYS 

How  often  during  those  first  years  in  the  wilds  of  Michigan 
did  I  long  for  companionship  of  the  boys  and  girls  that  I  left  be- 
hind me  at  St.  Johnsbury  in  1831.  To  play  once  more  along  the 
sunny  Passumpsic  ;  to  dig  artichokes  in  Capt.  Rice's  meadows  ; 
to  pick  red  raspberries  in  Dr.  Jewett's  cow  pasture  ;  to  wear  the 
medal  home  from  school ;  to  go  up  and  visit  and  be  kindly  allow- 
ed to  read  some  new  juvenile  books  at  Mr.  J.  P.  Fairbanks'  Book 
Store.  F.  L.  1885. 

We  roamed  in  the  meadows,  picked  strawberries  and  gather- 
ed butternuts  in  their  season  ;  fished  and  swam  in  the  rivers.  It 
was  a  never  ending  day  for  us  boys.     Now  all  is  changed — 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND  REMINISCENT  355 

• 'Grass  grows  on  the  Master's  grave  and  the  running  brook  is  dry, 
And  of  all  the  boys  that  were  schoolmates  then,  there  are  left  only  you  and 
I."  H.  P. 

"The  coming  of  snow  in  Kalamazoo  carries  me  back  in  mem- 
ory to  the  happy  days  of  boyhood  when  we  were  sliding  down  the 
Plain  Hill  into  Paddock  Village,  at  the  risk  of  our  necks  and  of 
the  legs  of  all  others  on  that  winding  road.  It  was  facilis  descensus 
Paddoci;  regressus — hie  labor y  hoc  opus  est."  1857 

"I  seem  to  see  the  dear  old  hills 

The  clover  patch,  the  pickerel  pond 
And  I  can  hear  the  mountain  rills. 

An'  there's  the  hillside  rough  and  gray 
O'er  which  we  little  fellows  strayed, 
"A  checkerberrin'  everyday." 

"How  well  I  remember  our  tramps  up  to  the  checkerberry 
knoll  in  the  Howard  pasture.  On  the  way  through  the  deep  woods 
we  went  over  the  banks  of  ancient  moss,  and  in  those  days  no 
boy  ever  went  by  without  throwing  himself  down  to  rest  on  that 
soft  mossy  bed  and  eating  wild  sorrel.  Then  on  to  the  checker- 
berry  knoll ;  how  pungent  those  checkerberry  leaves  were ;  how 
keen  and  biting  their  flavor ;  then  off  to  the  open  field  for  straw- 
berries." C.   V.  B. 

HOME    REVISITED 

June  13,  1832.  Returned  for  one  night  to  St.  Johnsbury,  the 
spot  which  above  all  others  I  value  most,  hallowed  by  recollec- 
tions most  deeply  engraved  on  my  heart.  At  the  head  of  the 
Plain  I  stopped  my  horse  before  the  little  law  office,  (Judge  Pad- 
dock's) where  I  had  spent  so  many  happy  hours  in  professional, 
and  literary  studies.  All  was  dark  and  silent,  only  a  few  lights 
were  twinkling  at  the  windows  down  the  street.  I  rode  up  to  &foe 
Judge's  door,  but  could  not  catch  a  glimpse  of  anyone,  calledlf&t 
Ephraim's  store  and  knocked,  but  received  no  answer;  paused 
before  the  house  of  God  where  I  had  spent  so  many  happy  hours. 
The  silence  of  death  prevailed  and  the  scene  awakened  feedings 
almost   too  powerful  to  control.     As  I  passed  on  every  otojlsct 


356  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

around  me  seemed  to  claim  acquaintance  ;  the  shade  trees,  the 
houses,  the  fields,  the  hills  which  rose  darkly  against  the  horizon, 
seemed  to  greet  their  old  admirer  with  joy.  The  rude  house  oc- 
cupied by  my  father's  family  for  some  years  would  hardly  be 
regarded  at  the  present  day  as  a  comfortable  shelter  for  cattle, 
but  here  was  my  boyhood  home  ;  every  house,  tree  and  shrub, 
every  hill  and  valley  here  awakens  recollections  of  other  days, 
and  I  cannot  easily  transfer  to  any  other  place  the  attachment  I 
have  for  these  St.  Johnsbury  scenes."  J,  P.  F. 

MEN    REMEMBERED 

"Passing  recently  down  the  Passumpsic  valley,  I  spent  a  few 
hours  in  St.  Johnsbury,  where  in  the  political  days  of  Henry  Clay 
and  Frelinghyson,  44  years  ago,  I  attended  school  under  good 
Master  Colby  now  gone  to  rest,  and  with  him  a  long  roll  of  citizens 
— amongst  whom  I  recalled,  as  I  walked  the  streets,  Ephraim 
Paddock  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Huxham  Paddock,  the  iron 
founder,  Dr.  Luther  Jewett,  member  of  Congress  in  years  gone 
by,  Democrat  George  Barney,  afterward  postmaster,  Dr.  Calvin 
Jewett,  the  three  Fairbanks  Brothers.  St.  Johnsbury  has  far  out- 
grown her  former  self,  and  as  a  place  of  residence  has  many  ad- 
vantages and  attractions."  G.  B.  R.  1887. 

MOTHER   TO   THE    BOYS   OF   1820 

In  a  house  on  lower  Main  street  nearly  opposite  the  old 
burial  ground  lived  the  family  of  Deacon  Hubbard  Lawrence. 
Meta  Lander  says  it  was  one  of  the  old-fashioned  hospitable  coun- 
try houses  with  ample  chimney  corners  from  which  a  pile  of 
blazing  logs  used  to  send  out  genial  warmth  and  glow.  The 
mother  who  presided  here — one  whom  everybody  loved  to  call 
mother — made  the  home  always  cheerful  and  attractive,  espec- 
ially to  the  boys.  One  of  these  boys,  Milo  P.  Jewett,  in  after 
years  President  of  Vassar  College,  has  this  reminiscence  : — 

"The  boys  of  the  neighborhood  liked  to  go  there,  whether 
for  play  or  on  errands.  Even  now  I  can  hear  my  Father  calling, 
'Milo  !    Milo  !'   as  he  would  return  from  visiting  some  patient — 


DESCRIPTIVE  AND  REMINISCENT  357 

when  we  were  over  there  playing  together  in  the  old  yard,  or  at 
work  digging  potatoes  in  the  garden,  or  eating  flapjacks  prepared 
as  nowhere  else ;  famous  flapjacks  those  were,  a  stack  of  them 
eighteen  inches  high  and  of  the  size  of  the  largest  dinner  plates, 
swimming  in  butter  and  maple  sugar  !  And  the  delicious  indian- 
pudding  brought  on  to  the  table  in  place  of  the  soup  of  modern 
days. 

"My  childhood  recollection  of  Mrs.  Lawrence  brings  her  before 
me  as  a  model  woman,  a  type  of  all  that  is  strong  and  noble  and 
sweet  in  womanhood,  and  in  full  sympathy  with  childhood.  How- 
ever noisy  or  rude  our  sports,  she  was  always  patient,  carrying  an 
air  of  authority  tempered  with  gentleness.  I  remember  how  she 
rebuked  my  childish  vanity  once,  when  I  was  declaiming  on  the 
superiority  of  our  hens  and  chickens,  by  saying,  'Yes,  Milo,  your 
geese  are  always  swans.'  " 

Note — This  remark  had  a  much  wider  reach  than  she  expected.  Milo  P. 
Jewett,  LL.  D.,  born  here  in  1808  was  graduated  from  Dartmouth  in  1828  and 
became  a  distinguished  educator.  He  had  an  important  share  in  moulding 
the  educational  system  of  the  Southern  States  where  he  spent  sixteen  years. 
In  1855  he  came  to  Poughkeepsie  and  while  there  became  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  Matthew  Vassar,  who  submitted  to  him  his  plans  for  a  large 
hospital  which  he  intended  to  erect  in  that  place.  Dr.  Jewett  pointed  out 
that  his  two  or  three  millions  might  be  more  wisely  expended  in  providing 
for  the  higher  education  of  young  women,  "to  do  for  them  what  Yale  and 
Harvard  are  doing  for  young  men"— carrying  out  the  idea  that  Tennyson 
had  expressed  in  the  prologue  of  The  Princess  :  — 

<<*    *    *    j  wouid  build 
Far  off  from  men  a  college  like  a  man's, 
And  would  teach  them  all  that  men  are  taught." 

Then  and  there  Vassar  College  was  born  and  Dr.  Milo  P.  Jewett  was 
appointed  President.  He  spent  eight  months  in  Europe  studying  educational 
methods,  elaborated  a  scheme  for  the  new  enterprise  voluminous  enough  to 
fill  42  pages,  and  during  the  years  following  incorporated  the  same  into  the 
standards  and  curriculum  of  the  first  woman's  college  in  America.  He  died 
in  1867. 

AUNTIE  TO   THE    BOYS   OF    1840  , 

"And  Aunt  Polly  Ferguson,  the  dear  old  maiden  auntie,  who 
lived  alone  with  her  cat,  and  made  trousers  and  roundabouts  for 


358  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

us  boys  ;  so  hard  worked  and  so  good.  I  remember  how  discol- 
ored by  the  thread  and  how  picked  was  her  bony  forefinger  by  her 
needle,  plied  so  faithfully  and  patiently  through  the  long,  long 
years.  She  filled  her  humble  sphere  with  rare  fidelity,  and  such  as 
she  still  live  as  saints  in  memory."  5.   G.  1893. 

"My  boyish  affection  for  my  foster  mother  so  to  speak,  who 
repaired  the  many  rents  in  my  garments,  soothed  my  perturbed 
spirits,  and  allowed  me  to  fondle  her  cat — dear  Aunt  Polly 
Foggy  son,  as  we  used  to  call  her."  F.  L.  1885. 

"While  in  our  early  teens  we  used  to  wear  spencers  with 
brass  buttons  down  the  front.  These  were  made  by  Aunt  Polly 
Ferguson  who  lived  in  a  little  box  of  a  house  during  the  forties, 
which  stood  nearly  opposite  the  Court  House.  Her  vivacity  and 
kindness  won  my  heart  when  a  child,  in  so  much  that,  years  after, 
coming  home  on  college  vacations  I  made  sure  of  going  in  to 
visit  her  and  her  cat  in  the  little  room  where  she  used  to  pat  our 
shoulders  and  fit  our  brass  buttoned  spencers." 

E.  T.  F.  1879. 

AS   OTHERS   HAVE    REMARKED 

"The  stranger  within  thy  gates  may  not  see  things  with  entire  accuracy  but  whatever  he 
has  to  say  will  be  read  with  interest." 

1812 

'  'We  left  our  vehicles  and  having  obtained  "a  convenient  wagon  and  a 
discreet  young  man  to  drive  it,  made  an  excursion  up  into  the  interior  of 
Vermont  through  the  townships  of  Ryegate,  Barnet,  St.  Johnsbury.  On  the 
Posoompsuk  as  well  as  on  the  Connecticut  are  many  rich  and  handsome  in- 
tervales. In  St.  Johnsbury  is  a  Plain  about  half  a  mile  in  diameter,  remark- 
able for  being  the  only  spot  of  that  nature  throughout  the  region." 

President  Dwight,  Yale  College. 

1814 

"It  was  in  the  winter  of  1814  that  I  taught  school  by  day  and  a  singing 
class  also  in  the  evening  at  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.  Here  I  found  myself  among 
some  of  the  very  best  of  people  ;  whenever  I  see  or  hear  the  word  St.  Johns- 
bury, I  always  think  of  the  place  of  which  God  said— 'this  is  my  rest  forever, 
here  will  I  dwell'  *  *  When  I  told  Dr.  Hamlin,  who  was  himself  a  great 
mechanic,  that  the  inventor  of  the  platform  scale  had  once   been  a  pupil  of 


AS  OTHERS  HAVE  REMARKED        359 

mine,  he  shut  up  one  eye  and  squinting  at  me  with  the  other  naively  remark- 
ed— 'y°u  must  have  taught  away  to  him  all  your  own  mechanical  knowledge' 
— a  bit  of  pleasantry  to  be  sure,  but  if  I  taught  it  all  away  it  was  to  one  who 
knew  how  to  use  it  to  good  purpose." 

Dr.  William  Goodell,  Constantinople. 

1842 

"For  a  glorious  Fourth  of  July  you  should  have  made  your  way  up 
among  the  vallies  and  hills  of  Vermont  to  St.  Johnsbury;  a  lovely  invig- 
orating spot  with  romantic  scenery  clothed  in  the  dark  green  peculiar  to 
Vermont,  its  broad  street  and  neat  habitations  peeping  through  the  luxuriant 
foliage  ;  you  should  have  listened  to  the  murmuring  waterfall,  the  carol  of 
birds  and  the  bell  of  the  village  meeting  house  calling  young  and  old  brim- 
full  of  glee  to  the  celebration  of  the  day."  Boston  Traveler. 

1860 

"Here  I  am  in  American  Alp-land.  Since  I  left  my  own  home  on  the 
borders  of  limpid  Lake  Lucerne,  I  have  seen  nothing  comparable  to  the 
picturesque  scenery  around  St.  Johnsbury,  combining  mountains,  wooded 
hills,  sweet  valleys  and  gorgeous  cloudland.  There  is  an  air  of  complete 
long  established  comfort  all  over  the  village.  I  have  seen  nothing  more 
beautiful  than  the  residences  and  grounds  where  ample  wealth  has  been  ex- 
quisitely aided  by  perfect  taste.  And  things  are  so  different  here  from  what 
they  are  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  ;  the  strata  of  society  lie  in  opposite 
directions  quite  new  to  one  who  has  been  accustomed  from  childhood  to  stiff 
unbending  social  distinctions.  My  old  prejudices  faded  away  when  at  a 
pleasant  party  in  this  pretty  village  I  saw  that  the  cordiality  and  respect  that 
were  shown  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  were  equally  displayed  to  all  his 
subjects  present."  Swiss  Lady  in  Vermont,  H.  M.  F. 

1869 

"Drawing  near  some  oriental  city  one  is  charmed  with  its  appearance 
but  a  closer  acquaintance  dispels  the  illusion.  How  different  at  St.  Johns- 
bury. As  I  approached  from  Montreal  I  was  struck  with  its  beauty,  but 
during  my  week's  residence  therein  I  was  delighted  with  the  cleanliness  of 
the  streets,  the  neatness  of  the  homes,  the  English  appearance  of  the  coun- 
try lanes,  the  fresh  glimpses  of  sylvan  beauty  met  with  at  every  turn, 
whether  walking  or  driving."  W.  H.  Newlet  of  England. 

1873 

"And  so  Bierstadts'  magnificent  Domes  is  doomed  to  the  obscurity  of  a 
little  town  in  Northern  Vermont."  San  Francisco  Call. 


360  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"But  it  was  no  commonplace  community  for  which  The  Domes  of  The 
Yosemite  had  been  captured.  It  was  a  town  which  had  long  possessed 
many  claims  to  more  than  passing  interest ;  a  bright  example  of  the  results 
of  conservative  energy  ;  a  town  pulsing  with  strong  and  virile  life  ;  growing 
always  yet  growing  best  while  clinging  to  the  traditions  of  the  older  New 
England.  Such  is  St.  Johnsbury  where  the  Domes  of  the  Yosemite  have 
found  a  permanent  resting  place."  New  England  Magazine. 

"Bierstadts'  canvas  has  no  reason  to  blush  for  its  company  in  this  ob- 
scurity of  a  Vermont  town,  nor  does  that  grand  mass  of  colors  caught  from 
the  sky,  the  sunlight  and  the  laughing  waters  of  the  Yosemite  lack  apprecia- 
tive visitors — whether  among  the  cultivated  people  of  the  town  or  others, 
citizens  of  the  world,  many  of  whom  come  here  every  year."      A.  C.  K. 

1874 

"This  fair  village  is  of  the  sort  nowhere  found  outside  New  England — 
where  what  God  has  made  so  beautiful  is  enhanced  by  the  skill  and  taste  of 
man — where  morality,  intelligence  and  public  order  spring  out  of  thrift  and 
industry,  and  where  men  are  themselves  the  best  products — you  will  go  far 
before  you  find  better.  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 

1875 

"We  mount  a  slope  and  are  in  the  leaf-strewn  avenue  called  St.  Johns- 
bury,  the  proper  crown  and  citadel  of  the  river  beds.  Uplands  start  from  the 
farther  banks  and  shut  us  in  with  green  and  purple  heights  on  which  the 
sunrise  and  sunset  play  with  wondrous  harmonies  of  light  and  shade.  This 
is  a  village  of  working  men  ;  beggars  are  not  seen,  nor  drunkards  ;  the  men 
are  at  work,  the  boys  and  girls  are  at  school  where  they  are  educated  free  of 
cost.  It  is  such  a  village,  where  the  craftsmen  own  their  cottages,  as  we  in 
England  are  striving  for  in  our  Shaftsbury  Parks  and  other  experiments. 
What  are  the  secrets  of  this  working  man's  paradise?  Why  is  the  place  so 
clean,  the  people  so  well  housed  and  fed?  All  voices  answer  me— a  prohibi- 
tory law  carried  out  with  the  rigor  of  an  arctic  frost." 

Hepworth  Dixon  of  England. 

1876 

"This  is  a  manufacturing  town  although  there  is  an  air  of  quietude 
about  it  that  does  not  comport  with  one's  idea  of  industrial  activity.  If  such 
friendliness  between  labor  and  capital  existed  everywhere  we  should  not 
know  what  was  meant  by  a  strike.  There  are  no  saloons  here  and  burglary 
and  street  fights  are  of  infrequent  occurrence.  I  have  visited  many  towns 
and  cities,  but  I  never  saw  a  place  just  like  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  is." 

West  Virginia. 


AS  OTHERS  HAVE  REMARKED  361 

1877 

"To  the  traveler  from  afar  too  much  cannot  be  said  of  St.  Johnsbury 
and  the  beautiful  country  surrounding  it— with  balmy  breezes,  springs  of 
pure  water,  orchards  and  trees  and  back  pastures.  Here  too  are  fresh  veg- 
etables, pure  milk  and  old  fashioned  flowers."  E.  P. 

1878 

"St.  Johnsbury  is  a  rare  place  and  in  it  are  rare  folks.  Panics  strike 
there  like  balls  on  impregnable  forts.  Radicalisms  are  neutralized  there, 
large  thoughts  and  purposes  grow  there,  with  public  institutions  and  benifi- 
cences  home  and  foreign."  W.  W. 

1879 

"This  flower  is  the  Queen  of  the  Bogs.  Among  orchids  it  is  peerless. 
England  has  only  one  representative  of  the  genus,  and  that  is  almost  extinct. 
Among  her  rarest  exotics  she  prizes  this  American  Cypripedium  Spectabile, 
Ladies  Slipper,  which  I  have  found  so  abundant  in  a  St.  Johnsbury  bog." 

Prof.  Gunning 

1880 

"On  the  Main  street,  a  broad  elm-lined  avenue,  are  residences  where 
cleanliness,  refinement  and  peace  prevail  ;  tall  ranks  of  trees  that  look  as  if 
the  century  crow  had  slept  in  them  ;  at  intervals  a  galaxy  of  churches  and 
public  buildings — among  these  the  public  library,  the  picture  gallery,  court 
house,  academy,  granite  churches,  soldiers'  monument— a  group  of  natural 
and  artistic  beauty,  a  companionship  of  wealth  and  art  that  would  have  done 
credit  to  the  environs  of  a  great  city  dedicated  to  education  and  science. 
And  as  I  looked  upon  the  scene  it  was  hard  to  remember  that  half  a  century 
ago  this  very  spot  was  the  home  of  a  poor,  simple,  industrious,  frugal  peo- 
ple, who  in  summer  gathered  their  little  crops  into  unpainted  barus  and  in 
winter  had  no  other  amusements  but  bear  hunts  and  sleigh  rides,  and  little 
more  education  than  what  they  could  extract  from  the  old  primer  and  the 
older  Bible ;  where  a  railroad  was  as  unknown  as  an  earthquake  and  a  li- 
brary as  much  a  curiosity  as  a  Turk  !"  Col.  J.  W.  Forney 

1882 

"I  know  a  village,  a  city  set  upon  a  hill,  which  might  be  truly  called  a 
light  of  the  world.  Inventive  thought  and  busy  labor  have  built  up  there  an 
industry  of  vast  proportions.  Length  of  days  is  in  the  right  hand  of  this  in- 
dustry and  in  her  left  riches  and  honor,  and  the  gathered  wealth  has  flowed 
in  streams  which  have  made  the  wilderness  to  rejoice.     The  village  is  con- 


362  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

spicuous  for  its  schools,  its  churches,  its  library  and  art  museums,  but  most 
conspicuous  of  all  are  the  virtue,  the  peace,  the  contentment,  the  social  order 
which  prevail,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  laborers  occupy  their  pleasant 
homes  with  peaceful  hearts."  Pres.  Seeley,  Amherst  College. 

1887 

"We  find  that  for  some  years  back  the  majority  of  St.  Johnsbury  people 
have  been  resting  even  from  good  works,  and  living  on  the  good  name  their 
sinful  town  once  had — from  which  it  is  backsliding  very  fast."    War  Cry. 

1887 

"This  little  Vermont  town  is  wonderfully  pretty.  Nature  smiled  when 
she  made  the  spot  and  her  face  has  remained  a  nest  of  dimples  ever  since. 
Such  ups  and  downs,  such  long  slopes  and  short  slopes,  such  hills  and  hol- 
lows never  were  seen  before  outside  a  puzzle  box."  M.  E.  B. 

1887 

"We  could  not  but  notice  the  well-to-do,  contented,  healthful  appear- 
ance of  the  workmen  of  the  Scale  Works.  With  dinner  pails  in  their  hands 
they  went  whistling  or  pleasantly  chatting  along,  and  in  no  place  on  their 
route  did  they  have  to  pass  a  saloon.  With  saloons  kept  out  the  village 
prospers."  Lex. 

1889 

"St.  Johnsbury  is  a  beautiful  village  but  there  are  double  the  number  of 
trees  that  should  be  in  it  either  for  beauty  or  health."  Visitor. 

1889 

"St.  Johnsbury  is  a  good  place  to  read  about,  but  it  is  too  slow  to  live 
in."  C.  A.  N. 

1889 

"Just  think  of  it !  Only  eight  and  a  half  hours  from  Hartford,  and  not 
one  chestnut  or  walnut  tree,  only  one  dwarfed  horse-chestnut,  and  only  one 
colored  person  in  St.  Johnsbury,  and  yet  the  people  appear  happy." 

Courant. 

1892 

"St.  Johnsbury  is  a  charming  little  town  perched  on  the  top  of  a  moun- 
tain.    Here  are  a  dozen  churches,  a  public  library,  reading  room,  museum, 


AS  OTHERS  HAVE  REMARKED  363 

schools,  and  a  lecture  hall  that  will  seat  over  a  thousand  people.  Who, 
after  this,  would  consider  himself  an  exile  if  he  had  to  live  in  St.  Johnsbury? 
The  town  has  only  six  thousand  inhabitants,  eleven  hundred  of  whom  came 
to  hear  me  lecture  tonight — where  is  the  European  town  of  six  thousand  that 
would  supply  an  audience  of  eleven  hundred  people  to  a  literary  causerie?" 

Max  O'Rell. 

1894 

S<  Kanake  to  his  brother  Kutnoso,  Yokohama.  "I  am  now  in  the  city 
S.  Jonsburg,  March  the  9.  I  have  this  evening  been  to  a  great  banqueting 
in  honor  of  the  ripe  aged  women  of  the  city  who  live  in  a  Sunset  House. 
Extremely  of  interest  was  it  to  witness  the  way  of  doing  among  these  peoples. 
They  go  to  a  high  up  hall  called  a  Pythian.  This  was  said  to  be  dedicated 
to  Python  the  Dragon.  I  doubt  it.  But  not  the  less  it  might  have  been  so 
once.  Curious  indeed  is  the  way  of  getting  to  the  place  of  food  delivery.  A 
company  of  the  hungry  get  themselves  by  the  door.  Then  when  it  opens, 
that  is  like  the  bursting  of  the  dam  on  the  river  Yedogawa.  Individuals 
called  ushers  are  set  at  points  to  assign  seats.  But  so  great  ability  have 
these  Americans  of  waiting  on  themselves  that  these  officials  become  chiefly 
ornaments.  Among  youthful  natives  of  the  masculine  sort  one  may  see  vast 
appetite  for  sugared  cakes  and  a  sort  of  frozen  mush  which  they  partake  of 
with  multitudinousness.  In  this  singular  country  I  think  it  may  be  well  for 
one  to  be  capable  of  looking  out  for  himself." 

1897 

"And  now  and  then  in  the  quiet  sunset  hour  when  the  selectmen  daily 
call  the  voters  together  on  the  village  green  for  evening  prayer,  and  even 
the  customary  tinkle  of  the  cow  bells  in  the  streets  is  hushed  in  serions  ex- 
pectancy—some patriarch  stricken  with  deep  emotion  rises  to  voice  the  one 
confession  that  hurts  the  soul  of  St.  Johnsbury— a  man  in  this  town  once 
took  a  drink  of  liquor  ;  it  was  at  the  raising  of  the  first  meeting  house  in 
1804."  St.  A.M. 

The  pen  of  our  genial  contemporary  has  here  portrayed  a 
scene  without  which  picturesque  St.  Johnsbury  might  have  escap- 
ed observation  ;  appended  to  the  preceding  paragraphs  it  com- 
pletes the  composite  portraiture  of  the  place  seen  as  others  see  it. 


XXVIII 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER 


"No   history   of    New  England  is   complete   without  some   account  of 
events  in  which  her  sons  have  had  part  beyond  her  borders." 


ON  A  BRITISH  FRIGATE— SAVING  A  PIRATE — THE  POWDER  CASK — 
A  CATAMOUNT — KOORDISH  ROBBERS — HATS — JOTHAM  AND 
ABRAM — BANK  BILLS — A  RUNAWAY — IN  A  TYPHOON— SOUTH 
SEA    CANNIBALS— BELL  AT  MOSCOW. 


PRISONER  ON   A   BRITISH   FRIGATE 

After  his  exploits  at  the  Battle  of  Bennington,  Simeon  Cobb 
enlisted  as  a  privateer  bound  for  France  for  war  supplies.  The 
vessel  was  captured  by  the  British  and  carried  to  the  West  Indies, 
where  her  crew  was  distributed,  Cobb  being  put  upon  a  frigate 
for  what  they  could  get  out  of  him.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by 
trade,  and  when  questioned  called  himself  an  armorer  ;  which  re- 
sulted in  his  being  assigned  to  armorer's  duty  on  the  frigate.  In 
after  years  he  dryly  remarked  that  he  made  a  good  many  gun 
springs  for  the  British,  but  he  was  afraid  they  were  peculiarly 
tempered  and  wouldn't  last.  The  bill  of  fare  on  the  frigate  was 
not  very  tempting ;  it  was  principally  burgoo,  a  wormy  oatmeal 
made  up  into  porridge  in  a  big  cauldron.  After  two  years  at  sea 
a  ship  was  hailed  and  the  trumpeter  called  for  the  news.  Peace 
with  the  Colonies  was  announced.  But  there  was  no  release  of 
American  prisoners.  One  day  a  Portugese  sailor,  friendly  to 
Cobb,  but  who  could  not  write,  asked  him  to  write  for  him  to  the 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER  365 

Admiral.  Cobb  did  the  writing  and  with  it  put  in  a  plea  for  him- 
self ;  the  letter  was  delivered  to  Mother  Mary,  the  friendly  wash- 
woman who  got  it  to  the  Admiral.  Some  days  later  the  Captain 
of  the  frigate  went  ashore  to  confer  with  the  Admiral.  On  his  re- 
turn he  put  up  strong  inducements  to  Cobb  to  enlist  under  the 
British  flag.  The  proposition  was  firmly  rejected,  and  some 
while  after  Cobb  was  allowed  his  liberty  ;  after  his  escape  he 
found  in  his  bag  a  generous  gold  piece  which  he  credited  to  his 
swarthy  friend  the  Portuguese.  Mother  Mary  sheltered  him  the 
first  night ;  the  next  day  he  fell  in  with  a  skipper  who  took  him 
aboard  his  ship  loaded  with  salt  from  Turk's  Island  and  landed 
him  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  From  that  port  Cobb  worked 
his  passage  to  Newburyport,  thence  tramped  on  foot  to  Taunton, 
and  finally  in  1798  tramped  to  St.  Johnsbury,  where  he  cleared 
the  Cobb  farm  near  the  Lyndon  line,  on  which  he  lived  till  his 
death  forty-five  years  later. 

SIGNING   FOR   A    PIRATE 

William  J.  Wright  of  this  town  in  1831  sailed  for  New  Or- 
leans in  the  ship  minerva.  On  the  twentieth  day  out  she  struck 
shoals  off  western  Little  Isaac  ;  the  cargo  was  discharged  and  all 
hands  were  set  to  work  the  pumps.  A  sail  hove  in  sight  and  was 
hailed  for  assistance ;  it  was  the  Spanish  brig  leon,  Captain  de 
Soto.  He  agreed  to  lay  by  over  night.  Meantime  the  minerva 
took  fire  and  soon  was  all  ablaze.  The  long  and  jolly  boats  had 
taken  off  their  quota.  Wright  continued  working  at  the  pumps 
and  barely  escaped  to  the  leon  on  a  raft.  Captain  de  Soto  gave 
all  kind  treatment  and  after  landing  at  Havana  he  shipped  as  an 
officer  on  the  Mexican.  She  turned  out  to  be  a  slaver.  They  ran 
down  and  captured  a  ship,  put  the  crew  in  the  hold  and  set  her  on 
fire.  Some  while  after  the  slaver  was  caught  and  brought  to  Bos- 
ton where  the  officers  were  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  hung  for 
piracy.  Captain  de  Soto's  wife  came  on  from  Spain  to  intercede 
with  President  Jackson  for  his  life.  The  men  whom  he  had 
rescued  from  the  minerva  then  came  forward  and  signed  a  peti- 
tion to  the  President  which  secured  his  pardon.     Of  several  who 


366  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

had  been  stricken  with  yellow  fever  at  Havana,  Wright  was  the 
only  survivor. 

ZIBA    GETS   THE    POWDER    CASK 

The  story  of  Zibe  Tute's  acrobatics  at  the  raising  of  the  Old 
Town  House  has  often  been  told.  Another  achievement  of  his 
should  not  be  overlooked.  In  later  years  he  was  living  at  Wind- 
sor. The  tontine  building  of  that  place,  occupied  by  merchants 
and  other  tenants  was  on  fire.  When  all  hope  of  saving  it  was 
abandoned  someone  in  the  crowd  cried  out  that  in  one  of  the 
upper  rooms  was  a  powder  cask  that  ought  to  be  gotten  out ;  if 
not  it  would  soon  explode  imperiling  life  and  spreading  the  fire. 
Mr.  Tute  had  no  personal  interest  in  the  matter,  but  no  other  man 
being  disposed  to  risk  himself,  he  caught  up  a  ladder,  braced  it  to 
the  building,  bounded  to  the  top,  smashed  the  window  and 
plunged  into  the  suffocating  chamber.  The  fire  was  already  lap- 
ping its  way  to  the  powder  cask  when  he  grabbed  it  in  his  arms 
and  brought  it  safely  down  the  ladder. 

Ziba  Tute  deserves  to  be  remembered  in  this  town  for  his 
real  heroism  in  rescuing  the  powder  cask  rather  than  for  his  ath- 
letic feats  on  the  ridge  pole  of  the  Old  Meeting  House  on  the  hill, 
upon  which  his  local  fame  has  heretofore  principally  rested. 

A   NIGHT   WITH   A    CATAMOUNT 

"We  all  know  a  kitten,  but  come  to  a  catamount 
The  beast  is  a  stranger  when  grown  up  to  that  amount." 

Judge  Poland  did  not  himself  encounter  the  catamount,  but 
he  witnessed  the  fight,  and  told  the  story  of  it  one  morning  on 
the  piazza  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  House. 

"When  I  was  a  boy  the  woods  were  thick  on  my  father's 
farm  and  full  of  catamounts  who  did  great  damage  carrying  off 
sheep  and  killing  the  cattle.  We  had  our  stock  securely  kept  in  a 
strong  shed  which  none  of  the  prowling  beasts  had  succeeded  in 
breaking  into.  One  night  the  family  were  all  in  bed  except  Jonas 
Shepherd,  a  farm  hand  of  prodigious  strength  and  courage.     He 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER  367 

was  sitting  by  the  big  pine  fire  shelling  corn  on  a  jack-knife  stuck 
into  a  log.  Suddenly  there  was  a  crash  and  a  big  noise  out  in 
the  cattle  shed.  He  dashed  out  in  his  shirt  sleeves  and  found  an 
enormous  loup-cervier,  catamount,  had  broken  through  the  roof  and 
was  in  among  the  sheep.  As  Shepherd  approached,  the  beast 
leaped  to  the  roof,  crouched  a  moment,  then  sprang  for  him. 
Shepherd  jumped  aside  and  the  big  cat  landed  on  the  ground,  but 
in  an  instant  was  up  again  and  a  furious  battle  began  between  the 
two.  Shepherd  had  a  knife  which  he  used ;  the  brute  screamed 
and  bit  and  tore  his  claws  into  the  man's  flesh. 

The  noise  awoke  the  family,  my  father  grabbed  a  pine  torch 
and  we  all  rushed  out.  There  was  Shepherd  covered  with  blood 
from  head  to  foot,  holding  the  screaming  catamount  by  the  throat 
and  heels  high  above  his  head,  running  for  the  brook  in  the 
woods.  There  he  plunged  him  under  water  and  held  him  during 
a  tremendous  struggle  till  all  was  still,  while  the  brook  ran  red 
with  blood.  Old  hunters  said  that  if  he  hadn't  have  drowned  the 
brute  he  would  have  been  killed  sure.  More  than  200  distinct 
wounds  were  counted  on  his  body  from  which  he  never  entirely 
recovered."  This  story  by  our  distinguished  townsman  helps  to 
fill  the  gap  in  our  local  traditions,  which  are  sufficiently  pictur- 
esque with  bears,  but  not  once  out  on  the  trail  of  a  catamount. 

PLUNDERED    BY   THE    KOORDS 

Fayette  Jewett,  M.  D.,  son  of  Dr.  Calvin  Jewett,  grew  up  on 
what  are  now  the  Academy  grounds  ;  in  1853  he  and  Mary  Ann 
Brackett  were  married  on  a  Sunday  evening  in  the  Meeting 
House  ;  they  went  directly  to  Tokat,  Asia  Minor,  in  the  medical 
service  of  the  American  Board.  In  the  following  paragraph 
from  a  private  letter  Dr.  Jewett  tells  something  about  travel 
among  the  mountains  in  1855  : — 

"On  a  narrow  pass  overlooking  the  Toorkal  plain  while 
riding  single  file,  two  armed  ruffians  leaped  out  from  the  bushes 
and  the  next  moment  I  was  dragged  from  my  horse,  lying  on  my 
back,  a  robber  with  his  long  knife  standing  over  me,  and  each  of 
the  others  in  our  party  in  the  same  situation.  There  were  five  of 
the  robbers  ;  they  dragged  us  along  to  a  more  secluded  spot  and 


368  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

began  plundering  us.  From  Ahmet,  our  guard,  they  took  all  his 
belongings ;  from  Carabet  Agha  they  took  99  English  gold  sov- 
ereigns and  60  Turkish  sovereigns,  about  $720  gold.  Then  they 
began  on  me.  They  supposed  I  would  have  gold,  but  I  had  only 
about  four  dollars  in  metallic  currency,  and  a  case  of  lancets 
which  they  took.  After  plundering  my  baggage  the  leader  of  the 
gang  said,  'this  Frank  must  have  gold  somewhere,  if  we  don't 
find  it  we  will  murder  him.' 

Carabet  said  to  him,  'you  are  mistaken,  this  man  is  a  Doctor, 
he  carries  no  gold,  only  surgeon's  instruments  and  medicine.' 
They  then  examined  my  medicine  chest  and  small  trunk ;  finding 
nothing  they  cared  for  they  set  down  and  conferred  together  in 
Koordish ;  to  us  they  spoke  in  Turkish.  I  could  only  commit  my 
case  to  God.  After  a  time  they  concluded  to  let  us  go.  We  were 
conducted  by  a  circuitous  path  back  to  the  road,  where  they  left  us 
saying,  'Your  coming  was  very  agreeable  to  us.'  We  threaded 
our  way  under  the  dim  light  of  the  stars  through  the  rocky  path  to 
a  guard  house,  where  with  hearts  full  of  gratitude  to  our  Preserver, 
we  laid  down  by  the  open  fire  place,  and  despite  busy  thoughts 
and  equally  busy  fleas,  we  got  some  sleep.  I  have  communicated 
with  the  United  States  Minister  at  the  Sublime  Porte,  asking  him 
to  seek  satisfaction  from  the  government  for  this  outrage  on  my 
person  and  property." 

The  time  came  when  Dr.  Jewett's  two  sons,  Henry  M.  Jewett 
and  Milo  P.  Jewett,  held  important  posts  in  Turkey,  as  United 
States  consuls  at  Sivas  and  Trebizond.  The  latter  was  appointed 
by  President  Cleveland  to  represent  this  government  in  investi- 
gating the  massacres  of  the  Armenians  in  1896.  The  Sultan 
would  not  allow  him  to  serve  ;  he  had  been  brought  up  in  Turkey, 
and  his  knowledge  of  Turkish  subtleties  was  too  intimate  and 
dangerous  to  suit  the  imperial  Assassin. 

AT   THE   MARLBORO 

The  following  is  from  the  Boston  Transcript  fifty  years  after. 
"About  this  time  (it  was  July  4,  1837)  this  old  Tavern  met  with 
a  radical  change.  The  music  of  the  toddy  stick  ceased,  the  bar 
was  abolished.     A  new  and  original  method  of  keeping  hotel  was 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER  369 

inaugurated,  making  it  a  sort  of  religious  home  for  patrons,  with 
singing  and  devotional  exercises  before  breakfast  and  at  nine 
o'clock,  each  evening.  This  attracted  much  public  attention  and 
drew  within  its  portals  many  patrons  of  note  from  all  over  New 
England  :  such  men  for  example  as  Gov.  Briggs,  Henry  Wilson, 
Geo.  S.  Boutwell,  William  Claflin,  Erastus  Fairbanks  and  Judge 
Paddock  of  Vermont. 

It  happened  on  one  occasion  that  Judge  Paddock  and  Hon. 
Myron  Lawrence,  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  were 
there  together.  Lawrence  was  a  man  of  some  400  lbs.  weight, 
who  wore  an  immense  hat,  Paddock  was  tall  and  slight,  his  hat, 
of  the  old  narrow  brim  variety,  was  about  number  six  in  size. 
These  hats  as  they  hung  together  on  the  rack  made  a  striking 
contrast.  One  evening  while  devotions  were  being  held  in  the 
parlor,  two  boys  mounted  these  hats  ;  one,  a  tall  thin  fellow 
seemed  to  stagger  under  the  Senator's  head  gear  ;  the  other,  short 
and  stout,  had  Judge  Paddock's  small  tile  perched  on  the  top  of 
his  big  head.  Their  parading  through  the  hall  caused  great  merri- 
ment, till  cut  short  by  the  unexpected  appearance  of  the  ponder- 
ous Senator  and  the  Judge  from  Vermont,  who  found  their  hats 
rolling  on  the  floor  and  two  boys  retreating  down  the  staircase." 

JOTHAM    NOTIFIES   ABRAM 

Jotham  B.  Pierce,  known  in  his  boyhood  as  the  little  white- 
haired  lad  of  Fairbanks  Village,  was  born  in  1841.  His  father  at 
a  later  period  built  what  is  now  the  Sunset  Home.  Jotham  was 
a  playmate  of  Arthur  M.  Knapp,  well  known  in  after  years  in  the 
Boston  Public  Library,  and  to  him  he  wrote  the  following  incident 
in  June,  1860. 

"I  was  at  Galena  eight  weeks,  and  then  posted  off  for  Spring- 
field. While  there  as  telegraph  operator,  I  had  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  one  to  announce  to  Abram  Lincoln  his  nomination. 
During  the  week  of  the  Chicago  Convention  he  was  in  our  office 
nearly  all  the  time,  and  I  got  intimately  acquainted  with  him. 
He  was  one  of  the  freest,  most  plain  spoken  men  I  ever  knew,  I 
won't  have  a  vote  for  two  long  years  and  am  sorry  I  cannot  help 
to  elect  Old  Abe ;  but  the  first  vote  I  do  cast  will  be  for  free  labor 


370  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

and  free  speech — for  the  annihilation  of  slavery  and  the  inhuman 
traffic  of  slave  trade.  I  believe  the  negro  has  a  better  right  to 
himself  than  anyone  else  has  to  him." 

Tho  Jotham  was  debarred  from  voting  for  Abram,  he  was 
not  debarred  from  accepting  at  President  Lincoln's  hands  an  im- 
portant position  as  telegrapher  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  a  responsibility  which  he  discharged  with  honor 
during  the  entire  period  of  the  war.  The  town  of  St.  Johnsbury 
cast  514  votes  in  1860  for  Abram  Lincoln,  not  knowing  that  his 
first  notification  had  been  given  by  one  of  her  own  loyal  sons. 

A    BUNCH   OF   BANK   BILLS 

Among  the  many  accomplished  singers  of  St.  Johnsbury  in 
former  years,  few  were  more  highly  esteemed  and  happily  re- 
membered than  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Homer  E.  Sawyer,  who  removed  to 
Boston  in  1861.  In  the  New  York  Herald  of  January  24,  1869, 
appeared  the  following  story. 

"Five  years  ago,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1864,  Mr.  Homer  E. 
Sawyer  came  to  this  city  from  Boston  and  stopped  at  the  Belmont 
Hotel,  J.  P.  Richards  proprietor.  He  carried  $1650  in  bank  bills 
in  his  pantaloons  watch  pocket  which  for  safety  he  kept  pinned. 
Starting  for  New  Orleans,  he  bought  a  ticket,  returning  the 
balance  of  the  bills  to  his  pocket,  carefully  pinned  as  before. 
Soon  after  he  missed  the  bills,  the  pocket  still  being  pinned. 
He  concluded  the  bills  had  slipped  inside  the  pantaloons  instead 
of  into  the  pocket,  and  so  were  lost.  He  advertised  the  fact  of 
the  loss  in  the  New  York  Herald,  referring  the  finder  to  Mr. 
Richards  of  the  Belmont,  went  on  to  New  Orleans  and  died 
there  of  yellow  fever  in  1867. 

The  money  had  been  found  by  a  man  who  saw  the  advertise- 
ment and  who  remembered  the  name  of  Mr.  Richards,  proprietor 
of  the  Belmont.  The  remembrance  haunted  him  five  years.  He 
determined  to  restore  the  money.  He  wrote  Mr.  Richards  anon- 
ymously, asking  him  to  specify  in  the  Herald  particulars  of  the 
loss  of  that  money.  In  the  Herald  of  December  4,  1868,  came 
the  following  reply:     'Money  lost ;  on  Broadway  ;  five  years  ago  ; 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER  371 

about  $1500  in  greenbacks  ;  snowy  day ;  owner  now  dead  ;  any 
communication  for  his  widow  gratefully  received  by  J.  P.  R.' 

This  did  not  convey  all  the  information  desired  by  the  finder 
of  the  money,  and  he  wrote  a  second  time  asking  full  name  and 
present  address  of  Mrs.  Sawyer,  which  was  duly  given  in  the  next 
issue  of  the  Herald.  The  man  then  wrote  again  asking  for  the 
date  of  Mr.  Sawyer's  death,  date  and  certification  of  his  marriage, 
and  place  of  interment.  These  facts  were  in  due  time  obtained 
and  published  as  requested.  Still  another  letter  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Richards  relating  to  the  identification  of  Mrs.  Sawyer,  her  finan- 
cial circumstances,  and  the  expense  incurred  by  advertising  in  the 
New  York  Herald.  To  this  fourth  letter  this  reply  was  given  in 
the  same  paper — 'Mrs.  H.  E.  S.  is  the  right  person.  I  can  give 
bonds  to  that  effect.  Her  only  means  of  support  is  singing  in  a 
church  ;  expense  of  advertising  fifteen  dollars.' 

No  more  letters  were  sent  to  the  Belmont  Hotel,  but  on  the 
19th  January,  1869,  a  lady  closely  veiled,  restored  to  Mrs.  Saw- 
yer in  Boston,  171  Warren  avenue,  the  entire  sum  that  had  been 
lost,  plus  interest  to  the  day  of  restoration,  plus  the  cost  of  ad- 
vertisements, the  sum  total  being  $2160.  Many  friends  of  Mrs. 
Sawyer  in  St.  Johnsbury  as  well  as  in  Boston  rejoiced  with  her 
that  the  bills  which  had  been  lost  were  found  and  therewith  an 
interesting  story  to  tell." 

THE    CALEDONIAN    RUNS   AWAY 

"On  the  16th  of  September,  1897,  I  ascended  in  the  Cale- 
donian, from  the  Caledonia  Fair  Grounds,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  at 
a  quarter  past  three  o'clock  p.  m.  After  rising  a  mile  and  hearing 
thunder,  I  descended  and  left  my  daughter,  saying  that  after 
cruising  around  awhile  I  would  be  back  for  supper.  Ascending 
again  I  struck  a  current  of  air  that  drove  me  along  with  thunder 
and  lightning  like  a  race  horse.  The  balloon  began  to  toss  like  a 
boat  on  an  angry  sea.  Suddenly  thro  a  rift  in  the  clouds  I  saw 
mountains  ahead ;  I  let  out  gas  enough  to  bring  the  Caledonian 
down  near  ground,  skimmed  over  Fabyan's,  cleared  the  peak  of 
Jefferson  and  Adams,  then  was  whirled  back  by  the  wind  and 
landed  at  the  base  of  Mount  Washington.      I  anchored  to  a  tree 


372  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

top  and  began  to  prepare  some   coffee,   smiling  to  find   myself 
among  the  White  Mountains  instead  of  at  St.  Johnsbury. 

Suddenly,  while  eating  leisurely,  my  cable  parted,  and  I  was 
again  up  in  the  air,  swept  thro  space  before  a  fierce  blast,  not 
knowing  whither,  till  a  gleam  of  light  appeared,  and  farther  out 
the  lights  of  a  city,  which  I  thought  must  be  Auburn,  Maine.  A 
man  at  a  farm  house  heard  my  cry  and  came  out  with  a  lantern, 
but  he  couldn't  understand  what  was  going  on,  and  I  drifted 
away  from  him,  till  coming  to  another  village  my  lusty  cries  were 
heard  and  two  men  managed  to  seize  the  drag-rope  and  pull  me 
to  earth  again.  Columbus  could  not  have  embraced  the  earth 
with  more  fervor  when  landing  in  the  New  World  than  I  felt  in 
my  heart  as  my  feet  touched  solid  ground. 

As  I  think  of  that  voyage  thro  the  terrible  winds  and  rain 
storm,  it  seems  more  thrilling  than  I  can  put  into  words.  The 
sweeping  of  the  Caledonian  thro  space,  carrying  me  a  prisoner 
to  such  an  unknown  fate,  tho  it  has  not  frightened  me,  has  given 
me  serious  thoughts.  I  shall  of  course  continue  the  work  of 
ballooning,  but  shall  remember  my  night  ride  from  St.  Johnsbury 
thro  the  White  Mountains  for  some  while,  I  can  tell  you." 

Letter  of  J.  K.  Allen. 

CAUGHT   IN   A   TYPHOON 

Capt.  E.  R.  Underwood  from  St.  Johnsbury  became  the  mas- 
ter of  a  merchant  vessel  owned  by  the  Pacific  Coast  Lumber 
Company,  named  the  fresno.  He  had  taken  her  to  Japan  in 
1896,  and  was  on  the  return  voyage  from  Kobe  to  Puget  Sound. 
On  the  twelfth  of  December  a  typhoon  swept  down  upon  the  ship, 
carried  away  the  foreyard,  top-sail  yard  and  port  rail.  The  sails 
were  blown  from  the  belt  ropes,  the  rudder  gudgeon  was  torn  off 
and  the  ship  became  unmanageable.  She  was  thrown  on  her 
beam  ends,  the  water  began  running  into  the  hold  and  the  ship 
settled  in  the  water.  Capt.  Underwood  warned  the  crew  that  in 
all  probability  they  had  not  fifteen  minutes  to  live,  and  all  hope 
was  given  up.  Not  long  after  the  wind  shifted,  the  gale 
struck  the  ship  from  the  opposite  quarter,  putting  her  on 
an  even  keel.     After  a  while  the  men  rigged  up  a  jury  rudder, 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER  373 

and  the  fresno  floated.  By  skillful  management  and  under 
many  difficulties  they  succeeded  in  getting  her  across  the  Pacific 
and  into  San  Francisco  bay.  "I  have  been  thirty  years  on  the 
sea,"  said  Capt.  Underwood,  "and  never  yet  ran  into  anything  in 
the  shape  of  a  gale  that  could  equal  that  typhoon."  But  in  Oc- 
tober, 1907,  he  encountered  a  storm  which  cost  him  his  life  ;  a  heavy 
sea  swept  him  overboard  from  the  deck  of  his  ship  bound  for 
Honolulu. 

CANNIBALS   OF   THE   SOUTH   SEAS 

During  the  eighties  Captain  Underwood  was  first  mate  on 
the  morning  star  and  while  cruising  among  the  Micronesian  Is- 
lands had  some  acquaintance  with  cannibals ;  as  appears  in  letters 
of  1880-82  to  his  sister  and  his  brother  Timothy  H.  Underwood  : — 

"I  wish  you  could  see  the  savages  that  are  on  board  ship  today. 
They  are  bedaubed  with  war-paint  bright  red  and  yellow  from 
head  to  foot,  and  what  with  the  paint  and  the  filth  that  is  on  them 
one  can  generally  smell  them  before  seeing  them.  There  is  a  crowd 
around  me  now  puzzled  to  know  what  I  am  doing  while  writing, 
and  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  you  complain  of  the  perfume  of  this 
letter  when  it  reaches  you.  Their  long  hair  is  done  up  in  all 
sorts  of  shapes  on  the  back  or  top  of  the  head  and  the  pug  is  run 
through  with  a  stick  that  has  a  large  white  shell  on  the  end  of  it, 
and  others  like  a  six-tined  fork  ornamented  with  feathers. 

1 'All  the  men  carry  a  spear  ten  to  fifteen  feet  long  made  of 
hard  cocoanut  wood  pointed  sharp  at  both  ends,  and  on  it  are  also 
a  lot  of  sharp  poisoned  bones.  They  heave  these  savage  weapons 
with  such  force  that  often  they  go  clear  through  a  man's  body. 
The  women  are  most  abject  slaves,  they  do  all  the  work,  and 
while  the  men  decorated  with  paint  and  feathers  lie  around  under 
the  trees,  the  women  and  girls  are  busy  keeping  flies  and  mos- 
quitos  off  them.  They  have  no  marriage  ceremony;  the  men 
simply  take  a  girl  and  keep  her  as  long  as  they  want  her,  then 
sell  her  or  give  her  away  or  get  rid  of  her  if  nobody  care9  for  her. 
The  king  just  now  has  23  wives  and  the  old  ones  are  made  slaves 
forthe  younger  ones. 


374  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"At  Papiteauea  we  made  startling  discoveries.  Two  days 
before  we  arrived  there  was  a  battle  in  which  great  numbers  were 
slain.  We  went  ashore  and  visited  the  place.  I  cannot  give  you 
the  least  idea  of  the  scene.  The  ground  was  strewn  with  bones 
left  after  the  natives  and  the  dogs  had  eaten  what  they  wanted  of 
the  victims. 

"Last  Friday  we  sent  our  boat  to  land  on  Tarawa  ;  they  came 
back  bringing  reports  of  a  lively  time  on  Tarawa  where  last  week 
was  a  battle  among  the  natives  in  which  twenty-four  were  killed 
and  many  wounded.  The  next  day,  Sunday,  there  was  a  great 
feast  in  which  the  captives  had  an  important  part,  for  the  victors 
built  a  great  fire,  then  roasted  and  ate  them,  while  the  dogs  and 
rats  were  feasting  on  those  that  were  killed  the  day  before. 

"I  expect  these  natives  would  like  to  get  hold  of  some  of  us, 
for  they  do  not  have  white  meat  very  often  ;  they  seem  to  have  a 
hungry  Thanksgiving-day  look  when  we  are  around  where  they 
are." 

These  barbaric  conditions  did  not  long  continue.  In  the  same 
letters  that  picture  the  cannibal  scenes  we  read  also  of  the  mis- 
sionary families  whose  work  among  the  islanders  brought  in  a 
new  and  brighter  day.  This  Morning  Star  of  1880,  third  of  the 
name,  was  the  mission  ship  of  the  American  Board,  built  by  the 
vSunday  School  children.  True  to  her  name  she  was  a  herald  of 
the  dawn,  cruising  to  and  fro  among  the  islands  with  the  light  of 
a  gospel  that  in  process  of  time  transformed  the  old  savagery  into 
peaceful  and  happy  communities. 

THE    BELL   AT   MOSCOW 

"There's  a  Bell  in  Moscow 
While  on  tower  and  Kiosk  O" 

It  was  a  scale  manufactured  in  St.  Johnsbury  that  was  set  up 
in  Moscow  in  1877,  for  weighing  the  great  bell.  The  contract 
called  for  a  bell  of  1800  poods  weight ;  that  is  34,845  pounds. 
The  scale  indicated  1654  poods,  a  shortage  of  5283  pounds. 

M.  Finlandski,  the  contractor,  questioned  the  reliability  of  the 
scale.     In  consequence  of  which  the  scale  was  tested  eighteen 


BEYOND  THE  BORDER  375 

times  on  the  7th  and  8th  of  October.  This  was  done  in  presence 
of  two  experts  invited  by  M.  Finlandski,  and  a  crowd  of  interested 
spectators.  Each  test  convinced  the  people  that  the  scale  was  un- 
mistakably correct,  and  that  145  poods,  4383  lbs.  were  missing  in 
the  bell.     The  value  of  the  metal  involved  was  $2,500. 

This  bell  was  for  the  Church  of  St.  Saviour,  built  as  a  memo- 
rial and  thank-offering:  for  deliverance  from  the  French  invasion 
of  Napoleon.  It  was  begun  in  1833.  There  were  2000  tons  of 
metal  on  the  roofs  ;  925  lbs.  of  gold  were  in  the  construction.  The 
columns  of  jasper  in  the  interior  cost  $13,000  each.  There  are 
sixteen  windows  in  the  dome  standing  26  feet  high  in  bronze 
frames.  More  than  fifteen  million  dollars  was  expended  on  this 
church. 


The  Moscow  Bell  story  recalls  another  that  didn't  have  the 
benefit  of  a  St.  Johnsbury  weighing  machine.  King  Edward  III 
set  up  in  St.  Stephen's,  Westminster,  a  bell  that  said 

"King  Edward  made  me  thirtie  thousand  weiht  and  three, 
Take  mee  downe  and  wey  mee  and  more  you  shall  fynd  me." 

In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  it  was  taken  down  and  underwrit- 
ten thus 

"But  Henry  the  Eight  will  bait  me  of  my  weight." 


XXIX 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES 


ATLANTIC  CABLE — THE  CENTENNIAL  —  MEMORIAL  OCCASIONS — 
PRESIDENTIAL  VISITS — OLD  HOME  WEEK — THE  P.  AND  O. 
RAILROAD— THE  ST.  JOHNSBURY — THE  JAPANESE  EMBASSY — 
BEDOUIN  ARABS — NISHAN  EL  IFTIKAR. 


THE  ATLANTIC  CABLE  DEMONSTRATION 

On  the  announcement,  August  16,  1858,  that  the  Queen  of 
England  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  had  exchanged 
congratulations  by  way  of  the  Atlantic  Cable,  flags  were  unfurled, 
cannon  answered  each  other  from  the  east  and  west  hills,  and 
church  bells  sounded  salutes  for  sixty  minutes.  In  the  evening, 
bonfires  were  blazing  on  the  hills  ;  houses  and  streets  were  illu- 
minated in  the  village ;  Torrent  Engine  Company  paraded  with 
band  and  eighty  torch  lights ;  Deluge  Company  followed  till 
called  off  for  aid  in  a  fire  at  Mclndoes. 

From  the  St.  Johnsbury  House  balcony,  Hon.  Thomas  Bart- 
lett  gave  an  address,  in  the  course  of  which  he  contrasted  this 
new  method  of  conveying  intelligence  with  that  of  some  years 
ago  when  mail  was  conveyed  from  Lyndon  to  Wells  River  inside 
of  one  day  !  Moses  Chase  who  had  lived  eighty-six  years  hoping 
he  might  live  to  see  this  triumphal  event,  sent  up  six  sentiments, 
including  these  three — "Franklin,  he  caught  and  tamed  the  light- 
ning ;  Morse,  he  harnessed  and  set  the  lightning  to  work  on  land  ; 
Field,  he  navigates  the  ocean  by  lightning."  Some  days  later  a 
dispatch  that  left  London  in  the  forenoon  was  received  at  the  St. 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURENCES  377 

Johnsbury   telegraph   office   at  four   o'clock  the   same   day;    it 
created  a  sensation. 

NATIONAL   CENTENNIAL   OBSERVANCE 

July  4,  1876,  was  ushered  in  with  bells  and  cannon.  At  ten 
o'clock  a  procession,  unique  and  striking,  presented  people  and 
vehicles  of  a  hundred  years  preceding.  A  heavy  storm  swept 
across  the  village  at  noon.  At  two  o'clock  began  the  marching 
of  various  orders,  fire  companies,  lads  in  continental  costume, 
military  companies  representing  all  nations,  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment, the  surrender  of  Ticonderoga,  thirty-eight  misses  repre- 
senting the  States  of  the  Union.  All  proceeded  to  the  mammoth 
tent  at  the  head  of  the  Plain.  Whittier's  Centennial  Hymn  was 
sung  by  a  full  chorus  led  by  Prof.  T.  P.  Ryder  of  Boston.  After 
invocation  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  by  Judge 
Poland.  The  oration  was  given  by  Gen.  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain 
of  Maine.  Plans  for  the  evening,  including  fireworks  and  a  great 
chorus  concert  in  the  tent  were  abandoned  on  account  of  the 
heavy  down  pour  of  rain.  The  next  evening  however  the  fire- 
works were  discharged  from  Arnold  Park,  and  upper  Main  street 
decorated  with  banners,  mottoes  and  bunting  was  ablaze  with 
colored  lights  made  more  effective  by  the  heavy  foliage  and 
darkened  sky. 

A  preliminary  observance  of  the  occasion  was  had  on  Sunday 
evening,  July  the  second.  Two  thousand  people  assembled  in 
the  tent  for  a  religious  service  led  by  laymen.  Eight  different 
churches  participated ;  one  of  the  addresses,  given  by  Rev.  J.  A. 
Boissonnault,  was  in  French,  many  who  were  present  not  under- 
standing English.  The  service  was  one  of  Thanksgiving  for  a 
hundred  years  of  national  prosperity.  Patriotic  hymns  were 
sung  by  the  multitude  of  voices  mingled  with  strains  of  the  cornet 
band.  This  was  designed  to  be  a  fitting  commemoration  of  the 
providence  of  God  in  our  nation's  history. 

PORTLAND   AND   OGDENSBURG   RAILROAD 

The  conception  of  a  cross-country  road  connecting  Portland 
with  Lake  Champlain  was  fully  shaped  in  the  mind  of  Horace 


378  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Fairbanks,  its  chief  promoter,  years  before  the  first  ground  was 
broken  for  it.  It  met  with  skepticism  at  the  outset  and  with  stiff 
opposition  all  along.  Popular  opinion  asserted  that  a  railroad 
thro  the  White  Mountain  Notch  was  impossible,  and  up  the  hills 
of  Danville  and  Walden  and  Greensboro,  impracticable.  Legisla- 
tive opposition,  the  antagonism  of  other  railroad  interests,  the 
financial  stringency  were  combined  against  it.  But  the  project 
would  not  die ;  its  promoters  believed  in  it  and  worked  day  and 
night  for  it.  Capitalists  in  Portland  were  won  to  it ;  Mr.  Fair- 
banks at  Concord  convinced  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature  of 
its  importance  to  that  state ;  towns  along  the  line  began  to  bond 
themselves  for  it ;    at  last  the  work  was  begun  at  various  points. 

THE     PORTLAND    AND    OGDENSBURG    RAILROAD    Was    becoming    a 

reality. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  December,  1869,  a  citizens'  meeting 
was  held  at  the  Town  Hall  to  arrange  for  the  first  shoveling  in 
this  town  on  the  new  road.  At  two  o'clock,  December  22,  a  pro- 
cession of  citizens  and  various  orders  was  formed  at  Court 
Square,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  a  cart  and  a  wheelbarrow  bear- 
ing the  inscription  P.  and  O.  R.  R.  The  tramp  was  then  made 
down  Main  street  toward  Sleepers  River,  to  a  spot  near  where 
the  dry  bridge  now  is.  Remarks  were  made  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bras- 
tow,  after  which  the  first  shovel  full  of  gravel  was  thrown  into 
the  wheelbarrow  by  Mr.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks ;  Capt.  Walter 
Wright,  the  oldest  man  in  town,  92,  then  took  the  shovel  and 
threw  the  second ;  others  followed,  the  last  of  the  shovelers  be- 
ing a  small  boy.  When  the  barrow  load  was  dumped  on  the  line, 
cheers  went  up  for  the  Portland  and  ogdensburg  railroad, 
salutes  were  fired,  and  the  band  played  a  triumphal  air.  In  the 
evening  224  ladies  and  gentlemen  had  supper  together  at  the 
Avenue  House,  speeches  and  music  following.  Bliss  N.  Davis, 
Esq.,  of  Danville,  reiterated  his  prediction  that  ladies  there  pres- 
ent would  yet  live  to  sniff  the  loads  of  tea  fresh  from  China  on 
their  way  to  Queen  Victoria  via  Danville  and  St.  Johnsbury. 

It  was  seven  and  a  half  years  before  through  connection 
was  finally  consummated.  The  last  rail  was  laid  in  the  town  of 
Fletcher  on  the  17th  of  July,  1877.     A  special  train  left  here  in 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES  379 

the  morning  carrying  a  hundred  people,  another  from  Swanton 
coming  east  met  this  one  in  the  field  where  the  rails  were  to  be 
connected.  Col.  A.  B.  Jewett,  Supt.,  handed  a  silver  spike 
to  Governor  Fairbanks,  President  of  the  road,  requesting  him  to 
drive  it  home  as  the  last  act  in  uniting  the  rails  between  Con- 
necticut River  and  the  Lake.  This  done,  there  were  cheers  and  a 
tiger  ;  addresses  were  made  by  Judge  Poland  and  Hon.  John  B. 
Brown  of  Portland,  who  said  that  that  city  had  put  three  millions 
of  dollars  into  this  enterprise,  which,  when  first  proposed  to  them 
by  Governor  Fairbanks  ten  years  before,  they  had  regarded  as 
an  impossibility. 

"The  scene  at  the  joining  of  the  rails  was  one  of  deep  inter- 
est. Hundreds  of  men  and  women  had  come  from  the  towns 
about,  to  witness  the  ceremony  that  was  to  give  them  a  Railroad. 
The  place  was  significant ;  away  from  city  or  village  ;  away  from 
all  habitation ;  in  a  broad  valley  skirted  by  a  luxuriant  wood ; 
a  fit  place  for  the  last  crowning  act  of  such  an  enterprise.  And 
when  the  shouts  went  up  and  the  last  sounds  of  the  doxology 
had  died  away  in  that  secluded  place,  there  were  many  thankful 
hearts  and  some  moist  eyes  to  testify  the  genuineness  and 
depth  of  feeling  which  pervaded  that  assembly." 

THE    ST.   JOHNSBURY  AND   LAKE    CHAMPLAIN   ROAD 

An  immediate  and  very  gratifying  reduction  in  freight  rates 
to  and  from  St.  Johnsbury  went  into  effect  on  the  opening  of  this 
competing  route.  There  was  a  prompt  and  notable  drop  in  the 
price  of  coal  and  other  commodities.  The  towns  along  the  line 
eagerly  welcomed  the  easier  contact  with  the  business  world  and 
the  more  advantageous  marketing  of  their  products.  As  an  in- 
vestment proposition  however  the  new  road  failed  to  reap  the 
financial  advantages  that  were  anticipated.  Both  the  construction 
and  up-keep,  and  the  running  expenses  were  unexpectedly  heavy. 
The  indebtedness  increased  and  the  bonds  and  the  stock  depre- 
ciated. Litigation  arose,  a  receivership  was  appointed  and  re- 
organization was  effected,  under  the  name  of  the  St.  Johnsbury 
and  Lake  Champlain  Railroad,  which  assumed  the  management 
July  1,  1880,  with  the  following  officers : 


380  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Horace  Fairbanks,  president ;  William  P.  Fairbanks,  secretary- 
treasurer;  Albert  W.  Hastings,  clerk  and  cashier;  Charles  H. 
Stevens,  general  freight  and  passenger  agent;  John  R.  Rust, 
road  engineer ;  George  E.  Howe,  master  mechanic — all  of  St. 
Johnsbury ;  Col.  A.  B.  Jewett  of  Swanton,  superintendent.  A 
new  and  substantial  steamboat  was  purchased  to  ply  between 
Swanton  and  Plattsburg  ;  important  improvements  were  made  and 
the  prospect  brightened. 

By  purchase  of  the  bulk  of  stock  the  Boston  and  Lowell  came 
into  control  of  the  road  in  April,  1885;  somewhile  after  the 
Boston  and  Maine  in  like  manner  purchased  it,  and  has  continued 
to  run  it  as  an  independent  line  yielding  a  very  considerable 
annual  deficit. 

ADVENTURES   OF   THE    ST.    JOHNSBURY 

The  first  locomotive  put  upon  the  Lake  Road  after  the  rails 
were  laid  to  Hyde  Park  was  the  st.  johnsbury  no.  1,  built  at  the 
Portland  locomotive  works.  Her  first  engineer  was  Alanson  Burt 
under  whose  steady  hand  she  ran  for  many  years,  and  with  whom 
she  shared  some  experiences  during  the  early  troublous  days  of 
that  road,  not  set  down  on  the  regular  schedule.  On  the  19th  day 
of  May,  1876,  while  creeping  along  the  track  this  side  the  East 
Village  after  the  great  flood,  she  suddenly  lurched  and  rolled  over 
into  Moose  River  on  the  Hovey  meadow.  While  she  lay  there 
on  her  left  side  half  submerged  in  water,  the  river  proceeded  to 
dig  itself  a  short-cut  channel  which  presently  penned  the  engine 
up  on  an  island  of  its  own.  The  process  of  landing  her  again  on 
the  rails  afforded  entertainment  to  a  multitude  of  interested  spec- 
tators from  different  parts  of  the  town. 

Some  years  later  under  similar  conditions  she  again  took  a 
bath  by  tumbling  into  the  Lamoille  River  near  Cambridge.  En- 
gineer Burt  was  fished  out  thro  the  cab  window  by  the  conductor. 
Life  on  the  Lake  Road  after  a  while  came  to  be  too  strenuous  for 
the  st.  johnsbury  and  finally  her  trips  on  the  rail  were  ended  ; 
she  was  sold  for  $340  and  her  boiler  was  converted  into  a  station- 
ary engine. 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES  381 

MEMORIAL   OBSERVANCES 
PRESIDENT   LINCOLN 

April  19,  1865 

"Besides,  this  Duncan 
Hath  borne  his  faculties  so  meek,  hath  been 
So  clear  in  his  great  office,  that  his  virtues 
—plead  like  angels,  trumpet-tongued,  against 
The  deep  damnation  of  his  taking-off." 

Consternation  and  grief  made  the  day  a  solemn  one.  It  was 
Friday,  one  week  from  the  Black  Friday  on  which  the  assassin's 
bullet  did  its  fatal  work.  Factories,  shops  and  schools  were 
closed  at  ten  o'clock,  and  the  tide  of  population  flowed  into 
Union  Park  and  the  schoolhouse  grounds.  The  assembly  was 
marshalled  into  line  by  Col.  C.  F.  Spaulding  and  his  aids ;  at  the 
front  a  military  escort  of  two  companies  of  infantry  and  one  of 
cavalry,  followed  by  veterans  recently  returned  from  fields  of 
battle  ;  then  came  the  group  of  36  misses  representing  the  re- 
united states  of  the  Union,  the  small  army  of  school  children  and 
various  groups  of  citizens. 

To  the  tolling  of  bells  the  long  line  moved  slowly  down  the 
streets  and  into  the  South  church.  The  heavy  drapery  of  mourn- 
ing on  the  white  walls  of  the  auditorium  was  relieved  by  con- 
spicuous Bible  verses.  The  interval  of  silence  was  broken  by 
low  tones  from  the  organ  and  the  chanting  of  a  psalm  ;  the  deep 
feeling  of  the  audience  had  expression  in  the  prayer  of  Rev.  L. 
O.  Brastow,  the  pastor,  and  in  scriptures  read  by  Rev.  E.  C.  Cum- 
mings.  The  serious  countenance  and  grave  tones  of  Judge 
Poland  gave  impressiveness  to  his  portrayal  of  the  martyred 
President  as  a  public  servant.  The  simplicity  and  moral  grandeur 
of  the  man,  his  high-souled  dedication  to  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try would  abide  as  an  inspiration  and  example  to  all  future  genera- 
tions. 

This  occasion  was  memorable  for  its  peculiar  solemnity  and 
important  life-lessons,  and  would  have  been  yet  more  so  could  it 
have  been  foreseen  that  this  was  first  in  a  series  of  commemora- 
tions of  similiar  tragedies  yet  to  come. 


382  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

PRESIDENT   GARFIELD 

September  26,  1881 
"God  reigns  and  the  Government  at  Washington  still  lives." 

On  the  speaker's  stand  erected  front  of  the  Court  House  were 
displayed  these  words — with  which  at  a  critical  moment,  Garfield, 
leaping  into  a  balcony,  had  quelled  the  fury  of  the  mob  in  New 
York  City.  At  two  o'clock  veterans  of  the  army  and  citizens  were 
escorted  to  the  grounds  by  the  Band  which  played  a  funeral 
march.  Prayer  by  Rev.  B.  M.  Tillotson.  Col.  Franklin  Fair- 
banks presided  and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks  said  that  the 
great  bell  on  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in  London  had  tolled  for  the 
death  of  President  Garfield,  a  thing  never  done  before  except  for 
royal  personages. 

There  were  four  addresses.  Hon.  Henry  C.  Ide  pointed  out 
that  Garfield's  training  in  self-discipline,  in  resolute  command  of 
himself  during  his  boyhood  and  student  days,  laid  the  enduring 
foundation  for  his  subsequent  splendid  and  patriotic  career.  His 
quite  remarkable  achievements  as  a  military  officer  were  vividly 
portrayed  by  Henry  C.  Bates,  Esquire.  Judge  Poland  had  been 
Garfield's  comrade  for  ten  years  in  Congress ;  he  gave  him  fore- 
most rank  as  a  statesman  of  broad  vision  and  courage  whose  con- 
duct actuated  by  purest  patriotism  had  won  the  unbounded  confi- 
dence of  all  parties.  Rev.  E.  T.  Sandford  represented  Garfield  as 
a  religious  man  who  on  all  occasions  and  before  all  people  radi- 
ated the  light  and  warmth  of  a  devout  Christian  spirit.  The  ser- 
vices of  the  day  were  long  and  impressive,  2000  people  were 
there,  and  at  the  end  they  seemed  in  no  haste  to  leave  the  spot 
where  a  great  bond  of  sympathy  had  been  holding  them  on  their 
feet  so  long  together.  Business  was  suspended  during  the  after- 
noon and  evening. 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES  383 

EX-PRESIDENT  GRANT 
August  9,  1885 

"The  man  who  by  his  consummate  military  ability  had  saved  the 
nation,  always  in  his  life  put  simplicity  before  distinction  and  duty  before 
pleasure." 

This  time  it  was  not  tragedy  but  commemoration  that  as- 
sembled the  people  on  Saturday  afternoon  in  Music  Hall.  Gen- 
eral Grant  had  rounded  an  eventful  and  honorable  life  with  a 
peaceful  death.  The  introductory  address  was  by  Gov.  Horace 
Fairbanks,  who  considered  the  greatness  of  the  military  leader 
surpassed  by  the  greatness  of  the  private  citizen,  whose  place  was 
now  forever  secure  in  the  esteem  and  love  of  his  countrymen. 
Judge  Poland  continued  in  a  similar  strain;  with  indomitable 
firmness  and  patience  Grant  had  commanded  great  armies,  with 
the  same  he  calmly  faced  the  bitter  misfortunes  of  later  life  and 
the  dreaded  malady  that  put  an  end  to  it.  The  remarks  of  Dr.  C. 
L.  Goodell  of  St.  Louis  were  felicitously  made,  as  is  indicated  by 
the  words  above  quoted. 

In  the  class  that  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1859  was  a 
breezy  lovable  young  Southerner,  Rector  by  name,  from  the 
state  of  Texas.  During  the  civil  war  he  belonged  to  the  picked 
cavalry  of  the  Texas  Rangers  whose  dashing  exploits  were  well 
known  throughout  the  South.  It  happened  that  Rector,  who  in 
the  meantime  had  become  Judge  Rector  of  Austin,  was  spending 
some  while  in  St.  Johnsbury  visiting  this  writer,  his  classmate. 
He  readily  accepted  an  invitation  to  participate  in  the  Grant 
Memorial  services,  and  was  introduced  as  a  representative  of  the 
Confederate  Army.  "I  am  most  happy,"  he  said,  "as  one  born 
in  the  South  and  educated  at  a  New  England  College  to  join 
heartily  with  you  in  this  commemoration.  *  *  *  Now,  after 
the  grass  has  been  for  twenty  years  growing  green  on  the 
hillocks  where  your  friends  and  ours  are  sleeping — we  of  the 
South  are  ready  to  say  and  we  do  say  that  our  defeat  was  for  the 
best ;  the  blight  of  slavery  has  been  removed,  our  interests  are 
linked  with  yours,  this  great  country  now  undivided  is  ours  as 
well  as  yours  and  we  of  the  South  will  stand  by  you  in  defending 


384  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

it."  Such  sentiments  as  these  from  Southern  lips  had  not  before 
been  voiced  in  this  town  and  they  were  received  with  prolonged 
applause.  Judge  Rector's  fluent,  frank  and  cordial  manner  of 
speech  won  every  heart  and  gave  eclat  to  the  occasion. 

PRESIDENT   MCKINLEY 

September  15,  1901 

"From  the  high  place  whereon  our  votes 
Had  borne  him — clear,  calm,  earnest,  fell 
His  strong  words,  like  the  prelude  notes 
Of  some  great  anthem  yet  to  swell." 

Memorial  services  were  held  Sunday  evening,  September  15, 
in  the  North  Church,  which  was  appropriately  draped  for  the  oc- 
casion. Selections  from  the  Midnight  Mass  of  Dudley  Buck 
were  rendered  in  the  opening  anthem.  There  were  three  ad- 
dresses by  three  of  the  village  pastors— Geo.  W.  Hunt,  Rector 
Pickells,  Edward  T.  Fairbanks.  The  two  former  deprecated  pre- 
vailing social  conditions  which  had  bred  discontent  and  encour- 
aged anarchistic  tendencies  ;  we  must  devote  our  energies  to 
building  up  civic  virtue,  reverence  for  law  and  the  righteousness 
that  exalteth  a  nation. 

The  remarks  that  followed  took  direction  from  the  Presi- 
dent's farewell  words — "Good  bye  ;  it  is  God's  way  ;  his  will  be 
done."  God's  way  is  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  to  turn  disaster 
into  victory.  Man's  will  works  its  cruel  deed;  God's  will  takes  it 
up,  reverses  its  aim,  forces  it  to  work  the  very  opposite.  God's 
will  be  done  in  turning  this  bitter  tragedy  to  the  sobering  and 
sweetening  of  popular  thought,  to  bringing  in  good  will  and  sym- 
pathy, purity  of  life,  broadening  charity  and  reverence  for  sacred 
things. 

PRESIDENTIAL   VISITS 
PRESIDENT    HARRISON 

August  26,  1891 

A  hundred  years  of  events  in  her  history  had  passed  before 
the  town  had  opportunity  to  welcome  a  Chief  Magistrate.     Then 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES  385 

on  the  26th  of  August,  1891,  President  Harrison  accompanied  by 
Senator  Redfleld  Proctor  and  party,  stepped  from  the  train  and 
was  escorted  by  800  citizens  with  banners  and  music  to  Under- 
clyfle,  where  entertainment  was  given  by  Col.  Franklin  Fairbanks. 
In  the  evening,  which  was  brilliant  with  flags  and  swinging  lan- 
terns, the  President  addressed  15,000  people  from  the  front 
balcony  of  the  Athenaeum. 

He  remarked  that  the  taste,  beauty  and  elaboration  of  the 
decorations  which  greeted  his  arrival  here  exceeded  anything  he 
had  seen  elsewhere  on  this  trip.  He  paid  a  graceful  and  eloquent 
tribute  to  our  national  flag  as  representing  the  heroism  and  the 
ideals  of  the  American  people,  and  added: — 

"I  am  most  happy  to  witness  in  this  prosperous  New  England  town  so 
many  evidences  that  your  community  is  intelligent,  industrious,  enterprising, 
and  your  people  lovers  of  home  and  of  order.  You  have  here  manufacturing 
establishments  whose  fame  and  products  have  spread  throughout  the  world. 
You  have  here  public-spirited  citizens  who  have  established  institutions  that 
will  be  ministering  to  the  good  of  generations  to  come.  You  have  here  an 
intelligent  and  educated  class  of  skilled  workmen  ;  nothing  pleased  me  more 
as  I  passed  through  your  streets  today  than  to  be  told  that  here  and  there 
were  the  homes  of  the  Working  people  of  St.  Johnsbury,  homes  where  every 
evidence  of  comfort  was  apparent,  homes  where  taste  has  been  brought  to 
make  attractive  the  abodes  in  which  tired  men  sought  rest,  homes  that  must 
have  been  made  sweet  for  the  children  and  comfortable  for  the  wives  whose 
place  of  toil  and  responsibility  is  there.  This  is  what  binds  men  to  good 
order,  to  good  citizenship,  to  the  flag  of  the  constitution  ;  and  I  venture  to 
say  that  all  our  public  policy,  all  our  legislation,  may  wisely  keep  in  view 
the  end  of  perpetuating  an  independent,  contented,  prosperous  and  hopeful 
working-class  in  America." 

A  Boston  man,  some  years  after,  said,  "I  had  occasion  to 
meet  Benjamin  Harrison  up  at  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  where  he  ad- 
dressed a  large  crowd  of  people  and  shook  hands  with  hundreds 
of  them.  I  never  shall  forget  the  grip  the  President  gave  my 
hand ;  it  was  a  grasp  that  meant  sincerity,  whole-heartedness, 
strength  of  character;  it  won  him  hosts  of  friends  during  his  polit- 
ical career." 

This  demonstration  in  honor  of  the  President  was  initiated  and 
conducted  by  the  Board  of  Trade  ;  popular  interest  in  it  was  in- 
dicated by  subscriptions  of  nearly  $1000  to  ensure  its  success.     It 


386  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

was  in  all  respects  a  brilliant  occasion  and  justified  the  President's 
appreciative  acknowledgement.  The  long  column  of  uniformed 
orders  and  citizens  in  five  divisions  with  three  brass  bands  moving 
along  the  gaily  decorated  streets  made  an  imposing  display. 
There  was  a  halt  at  the  Public  School  grounds  on  Summer  street, 
where  250  children  gave  salute  and  sang  America  under  direction 
of  Harry  May,  after  which  they  placed  a  huge  floral  key  in  the 
hands  of  the  President  as  a  symbol  that  he  now  had  the  freedom 
of  the  city  ;  it  was  accepted  with  a  graceful  response. 

PRESIDENT  TAFT 

October  9,  1912 

A  train  of  automobiles  went  from  this  town  to  Montpelier  on 
the  ninth  of  October,  1912,  a  month  before  the  national  election, 
and  returned  with  President  Taft,  reaching  here  at  noon.  After 
luncheon  at  Underclyfle,  the  party  was  escorted  by  various  orders 
in  uniform,  including  the  veterans  of  Chamberlin  Post  and  the 
boys  of  Champlain  Guard  and  of  Company  D  to  the  Athenaeum. 
Factories,  stores  and  schools  were  closed  and  the  streets  were 
gay  with  profusion  of  bunting.  The  President  was  presented  by 
Alexander  Dunnett,  Esquire.  The  crowd  cheered,  the  President 
smiled.  He  made  ready  contact  with  the  audience  by  referring 
to  his  selection  of  a  St.  Johnsbury  man,  Judge  Henry  C.  Ide,  to 
serve  on  the  Philippine  Commission ;  one  result  of  which  was  the 
introduction  of  many  Vermont  ideas  among  the  people  of  the 
tropics.  Having  found  Mr.  Ide  a  careful  guardian  of  the  public 
interests  in  that  position  he  subsequently  gave  him  the  appoint- 
ment of  U.  S.  Minister  to  Spain.     He  said  : 

"Vermont  is  a  small  state  but  her  soldiers  did  heroic  service 
in  the  Civil  War  and  her  able  men  have  given  her  distinction  in 
public  affairs  ;  they  have  proved  to  be  a  safe  reliance  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation.  New  responsibilities  have  come  upon  us 
since  becoming  one  of  the  great  world  powers.  A  powerful 
nation,  like  a  wealthy  man,  is  in  duty  bound  to  aid  and  benefit 
those  who  are  weaker.     This  is  what  we  are  trying  to  do,  aiming 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES  387 

to  promote  peace,  to  develop  natural  resources  and  increase  hap- 
piness among  all." 

It  did  not  appear  that  day  that  the  public  duties  of  the  Presi- 
dent had  seriously  reduced  his  avoirdupois.  As  an  experiment 
in  that  direction  he  said  that  he  went  one  time  to  Murray  Bay  in 
Canada,  and  while  there  was  the  recipient  of  one  of  our  famous 
St.  Johnsbury  scales,  on  which  to  mark  his  downward  progress. 
He  was  sorry  to  have  to  say  that  this  scale  didn't  suit  him ;  it 
was  too  correct  and  honest  to  give  him  the  desired  encourage- 
ment. 

EX-PRESIDENT   ROOSEVELT 

August  30,  1912 

Early  in  the  evening  of  August  30,  1912,  Ex-President  Roose- 
velt arrived  here  on  his  return  from  a  tour  in  Orleans  County. 
The  band  stand  front  of  the  Court  House  was  made  ready  for  his 
reception  with  flags  and  bunting  and  eight  strings  of  electric 
lights  radiating  from  it.  To  this  rostrum  the  Colonel  was  escorted 
by  several  hundred  men  of  the  Progressive  party,  with  abundance 
of  enthusiasm  and  red  bandanna.  There  was  no  introduction  of 
the  speaker,  for  the  reason  that  immediately  after  mounting  the 
platform  he  plunged  with  characteristic  promptness  into  his  ad- 
dress and  held  his  audience  for  an  hour  and  a  half  to  an  interest- 
ing exposition  of  the  principles  of  the  newly-formed  party  of 
which  he  was  the  head.  He  spoke  with  moderation  and  distinct- 
ness and  his  statements  were  received  with  hearty  applause.  The 
occasion  was  enlivened  with  music  and  songs  by  the  Consolidated 
Band  and  the  Progressive  Male  Chorus.  Newspaper  representa- 
tives from  New  York  and  Boston  kept  eleven  typewriters  busy  and 
seven  men  were  employed  at  the  telegraph  stations  forwarding 
messages. 

OLD   HOME    WEEK 

August  11-17,  1901 

In  June  of  the  first  year  of  the  twentieth  century  Governor 
Stickney,  in  accordance  with  an  act  of  the  preceding  Legislature, 


388  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

designated  the  week  which  included  Bennington  Battle  Day,  Au- 
gust 16,  as  Old  Home  Week ;  with  an  invitation  to  the  200,000 
native  sons  and  daughters  of  Vermont  living  elsewhere  to  come 
home  and  re-visit  the  scenes  of  their  childhood.  In  the  spirit  of  this 
Proclamation  a  committee  of  citizens  was  appointed  to  issue  in- 
vitations and  provide  suitable  entertainment  for  all  who  might 
re-visit  St.  Johnsbury.  Letters  of  invitation  were  sent  to  all 
whose  addresses  could  be  found. 

On  Thursday  evening  a  general  reception  was  held  at  the 
Museum  while  a  tremendous  downpour  of  rain  was  deluging  the 
streets.  Friday  evening,  August  sixteen,  found  about  250  people 
assembled  in  Pythian  Hall.  Edward  T.  Fairbanks  presided,  the 
Mahogany  Quartette  rendered  the  Bill  of  Fare  in  astonishing 
terms,  and  the  people  devoted  their  attention  to  it  with  very  evi- 
dent satisfaction.  After  introductory  words  of  welcome  from  the 
chair,  Hon.  Daniel  C.  Remick  of  Littleton  was  presented.  He 
said  that  his  father  was  born  in  Barnet,  his  mother  in  Danville, 
himself  in  Hardwick.  But  he  was  a  St.  Johnsbury  boy  during  the 
years  when  his  father,  S.  K.  Remick,  was  proprietor  of  the  old 
Passumpsic  House  ;  still  further  he  claimed  an  earlier  relationship 
to  this  town  on  the  ground  that  Enos  Stevens  who  went  down 
country  with  Jonathan  Arnold  on  the  interesting  quest  narrated 
on  page  59  of  this  book — there  found  Sophy  Grout  whom  he  mar- 
ried and  brought  back  to  Barnet,  and  this  same  Sophy  was  great 
aunt  to  Dan  Remick ;  therefore  Remick  was  to  that  extent  a  St. 
Johnsburyite  !  He  brought  greetings  from  the  state  of  New 
Hampshire  where  the  Old  Home  Week  idea  was  born,  and  fer- 
vently advocated  civic  enthusiasm  and  public  spirit  in  the  town. 
Hon.  J.  B.  Gilfillan  responded  for  the  state  of  Minnesota,  where 
so  many  Vermonters  live,  and  there  isn't  one  of  them  who  is  not 
proud  of  the  state  and  the  town  he  was  born  in.  Reverent  mem- 
ories fill  the  soul  of  every  returning  son  and  daughter. 

Hon.  David  J.  Foster  of  Burlington  was  introduced  as  one 
who  in  his  Academy  days  took  pains  to  acquire  the  art  of  public 
speaking.  He  used  to  ride  up  to  the  Plain  on  a  poky  old  horse 
and  one  day  asked  for  a  pair  of  spurs.  His  father  gave  him  one 
spur.     He  wanted  two.     The  father  assured  him  that  if  he  man- 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURRENCES  389 

aged  to  get  one  side  of  the  horse  along  the  other  side  wouldn't 
be  far  behind.  David  had  kept  his  elocutionary  side  well 
to  the  front  and  in  due  time  he  landed  in  Congress.  Mr.  Foster 
was  warmly  greeted  and  paid  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  Green 
Mountain  State,  especially  complimenting  the  mothers,  wives  and 
daughters  who  had  contributed  so  largely  to  her  fair  renown. 
Hon.  F.  G.  Fleetwood  spoke  gracefully ;  he  said  that  frugality, 
temperance  and  industry  had  been  important  elements  in  the 
making  of  Vermont ;  he  was  glad  to  be  again  in  his  native  town, 
the  finest  town  in  the  Passumpsic  valley ;  happy  the  man  who 
was  born  in  St.  Johnsbury,  or  who  had  lived  here,  or  who  had 
married  a  St.  Johnsbury  girl.  Mr.  E.  H.  Wolcott  brought  greet- 
ings from  Boston.  Senator  Hale  of  Lunenburg  paid  warm  tribute 
to  the  home  at  the  south  end  of  the  Plain  where  the  girlhood  of 
his  mother  had  been  spent.  Music  and  song  varied  the  exercises 
of  the  evening,  and  appreciative  responses  to  the  letters  of  in- 
vitation were  read  by  the  secretary,  Arthur  F.  Stone: — 

"We  love  Vermont  and  loyally  wear  the  green  of  memory  for  her  men 
and  mountains.  There  is  no  town  quite  like  St.  Johnsbury,  the  town  I  was 
born  in  and  I  am  proudly  proclaiming  the  fact." 

"With  happy  memories  of  old  days  in  that  beautiful  village  among  the 
hills,  my  dearest  wish  would  be  to  be  with  you  during  Old  Home  Week." 

"Cordial  greetings;  I  retain  lively  affection  for  St.  Johnsbury  and  its 
people,  and  would  gladly  recall  with  you  the  cherished  memory  of  St.  Johns- 
bury friends  whom  we  shall  see  no  more." 

"Success  to  all  such  efforts  as  Old  Home  Week  to  foster  local  attach- 
ments and  perpetuate  the  memory  of  our  forbears  ;  to  nourish  the  spirit  of 
liberty  and  strengthen  our  national  ideals." 

"I  am  always  happy  to  reckon  St.  Johnsbury  my  home,  to  recall  the 
surpassing  beauty  of  its  scenery  and  the  charm  of  its  generous  friendships." 

"We  shall  never  forget  the  happy  years  spent  in  St.  Johnsbury  and  the 
unnumbered  courtesies  there  received.  The  praises  of  St.  Johnsbury  have 
•  been  sung  many  times  and  she  is  worthy  of  them  all." 

"It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  E.  T.  F.,  my  old  comrade  at  the  Battle  of 
Bennington  ?  or  was  it  the  Battle  of  the  Night  Hawk  or  some  other — ?  is 
president  of  Old  Home  Week  Association.  Greetings  to  the  good  old 
Town." 

"I  am  always  thankful  for  those  blessed  years  during  which  our  home 
was  in  St.  Johnsbury.  Nowhere  else  are  there  such  men  and  women  as 
Vermont's  best." 


390  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"In  a  state  that  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  history  St.  Johnsbury  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  villages,  and  she  need  not  blush  for  her  sons  and 
daughters  who  are  far  away  helping  to  fashion  other  commonwealths." 

"My  affection  for  St.  Johnsbury,  my  only  old  home,  has  not  diminished 
one  iota  during  forty  years  of  absence." 

"Though  we've  been  away  in  Florida  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
St.  Johnsbury  is  still  to  us  the  dearest  spot  on  earth." 


THE   JAPANESE    EMBASSY 

On  the  first  day  of  August,  1872,  Mr.  T.  Hida,  Commissioner 
of  Public  Works  and  Mr.  K.  Nagano,  Foreign  Secretary,  members 
of  the  Japanese  Embassy  to  this  country,  came  up  to  St.  Johns- 
bury to  see  how  scales  were  made.  They  were  brought  on  a  pri- 
vate car  to  Wells  River ;  thence  on  a  special  train  of  two  cars. 
While  approaching  St.  Johnsbury,  Nagano  remarked  that  he 
would  like  to  ride  on  the  locomotive.  He  was  introduced  to  the 
engineer  and  given  a  seat  in  the  cab ;  here  he  watched  every 
movement  sharply  and  was  permitted  to  take  a  hand  in  the  opera- 
tions by  ringing  the  bell.  Suddenly  the  whistle  blew  down 
breaks  ;  the  train  running  at  forty  miles  an  hour  was  halted  just 
as  the  engine  reached  a  timber  that  had  fallen  across  the  track. 
Nagano,  much  agitated,  made  haste  to  return  to  the  car,  and  was 
less  communicative  than  when  he  had  gone  forward. 

On  reaching  St.  Johnsbury  the  train  was  reversed  and  ran 
around  to  the  scale  factory  where  two  hours  were  spent  inspect- 
ing the  works.  With  keen  and  intelligent  eye  the  Japanese  fol- 
lowed the  entire  process  of  manufacture  from  the  foundry  to  the 
sealing  and  packing  rooms.  Passing  under  the  flags  of  Japan  and 
United  States  which,  with  low  bows  and  uncovered  heads  were 
respectfully  saluted,  they  were  taken  into  carriages  and  driven 
thro  the  village.  Arriving  at  the  Athenaeum  they  were  given  a 
salute  by  the  St.  Johnsbury  cornet  band.  At  seven  o'clock  a 
banquet  was  served  by  Landlord  Gilmore  at  the  St.  Johnsbury 
House,  57  items  on  the  menu.  Addresses  followed  by  Gov. 
Hendee,  Henry  D.  Hyde  Esq.  of  Boston,  Hamilton  A.  Hill,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Boston  Board" of  Trade,  and  local  speakers.  Escorted 
by   the  band  and  lighted  with  rockets  and  fireworks,  the  orien- 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURENCES  391 

tals  returned  to  the  station  for  the  night  train  to  Boston,  where 
the  next  day  they  were  tendered  a  banquet  by  the  city  govern- 
ment at  the  Revere  House. 

SCALES   IN   JAPAN 

An  interesting  coincidence  with  the  Japanese  visit  to  this 
town  was  the  arrival  here  later  in  the  same  month  of  a  chest  of 
tea  from  Yokohama.  That  chest  contained  a  sheet  on  which  was 
the  following  printed  statement :  "This  chest  contains  forty- 
eight  pounds  of  tea  as  weighed  on  the  Fairbanks  Scales ;  we 
warrant  this  tea  free  from  artificial  colorings."  Signed  in  Japa- 
nese by  the  Yokohama  tea  dealer. 

Four  years  later  the  following  letter  was  received  from  Japan. 
"General  Post  Office,  Tokio,  Japan,  March  20,  1876. 

Messrs.  Fairbanks  and  Co.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  1875, 
your  scales  were  introduced  into  the  Postal  Service  of  this  coun- 
try, and  since  that  time  the  number  in  use  has  been  constantly 
increasing,  it  being  found  that  they  are,  what  is  claimed  for  them, 
a  standard  scale. 

"It  is  therefore  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  this  Depart- 
ment to  be  able  to  add  its  testimony  to  the  volumes  already  writ- 
ten in  praise  of  the  Fairbanks  Standard  Scales.  I  have  the  honor 
to  be,  gentlemen,  your  very  obedient  servant 

H.  Mayesima,  Post-Master  Ge?ieral. 

YA-SHEIKH   EL-ARAB 

A  notable  band  of  orientals  paid  us  a  visit  April  14,  1881 . 
They  were  here  by  invitation  of  the  writer  who  some  years  before 
had  tented  for  a  month  among  the  Tawara  Bedouin  in  the  Midian 
desert.  There  were  in  the  party  Abou-Daiyeh,  a  Sheikh  of  Moab, 
Selim  Hashmi,  one  of  Stanley's  Arab  guides  ;  Yakoob  Bazoosie, 
Syrian  Swordsman;  Sheikh  Mohammed  Sulieman,  a  whirling  Der- 
vish, and  others.  Their  picturesque  figures  on  the  streets  at- 
tracted a  large  assembly  in  the  Town  Hall  that  evening  where 
various  scenes  and  usages  of  oriental  life  were  depicted.     None 


392  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

who  witnessed  it  will  ever  forget  the  thrilling  passage  at  arms  of 
the  Syrian  Sword  Dance — the  swift  lightning-like  parry  and  thrust 
of  the  flashing  swords  clashing  around  the  ears  of  the  antago- 
nists ;  nor  the  whirring  whirl  of  the  whirling  Dervish  howling 
ya-lell-lee!  yo-yell-loo!  performances  unlike  anything  ever  before 
known  in  our  town. 

Sheikh  Abou-Daiyeh  was  a  dignified  representative  of  his 
high-spirited  Bedouin  race  ;  with  characteristic  generosity  he  left 
as  a  friendly  memento  a  coffee  roaster  which  he  said  had  roasted 
coffee  for  Sheikh  Fallen  of  the  Beni-Adwan  Arabs  hundreds  of 
years  ago.  Its  appearance  does  not  dispute  the  claim  to  vener- 
able age  and  service. 

NISHAN   EL   IFTIKAR 
DECORATING   A   PLAIN   MAN 

At  the  Vienna  International  Exposition  of  1874,  the  platform 
scales  manufactured  in  St.  Johnsbury  were  awarded  the  highest 
premiums.  In  addition  to  this  Mr.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  the  in- 
ventor, was  knighted  by  the  Emperor.  There  was  a  touch  of 
unintended  humor  in  the  circumstance  that  a  plain  man,  extremely 
averse  to  notoriety,  should  have  been  saluted  with  the  pompous 
announcement  from  Chancellor  the  Baron  von  Lichtenfels,  that, 
by  command  of  His  Imperial  and  Royal  Apostolic  Majesty — he, 
the  scale-maker,  had  been  decorated  a  Knight  of  the  Imperial 
Order  of  Francis  Joseph,  Emperor  of  Austria ! 

This  however  was  but  the  beginning  of  sonorous  announce- 
ments to  the  man  of  shrinking  mood.  The  next  year,  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  merit  as  inventor  of  Standard  Scales,  came  the 
Decoration  of  Puspamala  or  Golden  Medal  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Siam.  That  the  Power  which  is  mighty  in  the  Universe  may 
keep  him  and  guard  him  and  grant  him  all  happiness  and  pros- 
perity, was  the  prayer  accompanying  the  Document  of  Investiture, 
conferred  by  His  Royal  Majesty  the  Potentate  Somditch  Phra 
Paramindr  Maha  Chululoukom,  Phra  Chulu  Chom  Keas,  Fifth 
Sovereign  of  the  present  Dynasty  of  the  Kings  of  Siam. 

In  1877  additional  embellishment  arrived — a  Saracenic  dec- 
oration conferred  by  His  Highness  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  consigned 


OCCASIONS  AND  OCCURENCES  393 

to  the  care  of  a  relative  for  presentation.  Thereupon  a  company 
of  citizens  invited  themselves  to  the  home  at  Elmwoode  and  sum- 
moned the  many-titled  man  to  come  out  from  his  library  and 
stand  in  the  midst.  After  some  exchange  of  ordinary  greetings, 
one  spoke  and  said  : — 

"History  repeats  itself  with  some  variations.  It  is  well  known  to  readers 
of  oriental  story  that  the  fifth  Caliph  of  the  line  of  the  Abbassides,  the 
world-renowned  Caliph  Haroun-al-Raschid,  upon  whom  be  peace  and  the 
joys  of  paradise,  was  a  potentate  not  less  eminent  for  the  magnificence  of 
his  court  than  for  his  generous  patronage  of  the  liberal  arts.  It  was  a  cus- 
tom of  this  monarch  to  invite  to  the  hospitality  of  the  Saracenic  court,  or 
otherwise  to  dignify  at  their  own  homes,  men  of  foreign  and  far  distant  na- 
tions who  had  distinguished  themselves  by  services  to  mankind  in  the  way  of 
useful  arts  and  inventions.  Thus  he  not  only  advanced  the  intelligence  of 
the  world  but  crowned -his  own  reign  with  superior  lustre. 

Now  in  view  of  the  decadence  of  enterprise  and  art  and  invention  among 
the  Arabic-speaking  races  of  modern  times,  it  is  gratifying  to  find  that  in 
our  own  generation  the  disposition  of  the  great  Haroun-al-Raschid,  upon 
whom  be  peace  and  joys,  is  re-appearing  in  one  at  least  of  the  Islamic  Sove- 
reigns—viz :  our  eminent  contemporary,  His  Highness  Mohammed  es 
Sadok  Pasha  Bey,  Ruler  of  the  Kingdom  of  Tunis.  This  prince  has  become 
so  assured  of  the  excellence  of  weighing  machines  constructed  in  our 
neighborhood  and  introduced  into  his  Kingdom  from  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition—also so  impressed  with  a  sense  of  their  value  to  the  commerce  of  the 
world,  that  he  would  in  some  way  manifest  his  admiration  of  the  invention 
thereof.  Had  circumstances  favored  he  might  have  invited  the  inventor  per- 
sonally to  the  hospitalities  of  the  Tunisian  court,  after  the  fashion  of  the  re- 
nowned Caliph  of  Bagdad  Haroun-al-Raschid,  upon  whom  be  peace  and  the 
joys  of  paradise.  Had  the  course  of  events  permitted  the  consummation  of 
this  hypothesis  we  can  see  that  our  distinguished  host  instead  of  unexpected- 
ly receiving  us  under  his  own  roof  this  evening,  might  be  sitting,  feet  up, 
on  the  divan  of  the  oriental  magnate,  sipping  black  coffee  from  the  gilded 
zarf  and  fingan  of  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  regaling  himself  perchance  with  the 
fragrant  fumes  of  his  exquisite  nargeleh  ! 

This,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  merely  suppositional  ;  we  will  pay  attention 
therefore,  not  to  what  might  have  been,  but  to  what  has  been  done.  His 
Highness  the  Bey  of  Tunis  has  been  pleased  to  confer  on  the  inventor  of  the 
platform  scale  the  Knightly  Decoration  of  nishan  el  iftakar,  grade  of 
Commander,  an  Arabic  order  of  high  distinction  among  the  natives  of  that 
realm. 

The  recent  arrival  of  this  insignia  is  both  a  token  of  international  good 
will  and  an  event  of  considerable  interest  in  our  little  community.     We  have 


394  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

therefore  taken  the  liberty  of  inviting  ourselves  to  the  home  of  the  recipient, 
that  we  might  in  his  presence  recite  the  formula  thereof,  which  is  as  follows : 

"Praise  to  God  alone! 

From  the  servant  of  God 

May  his  Name  be  glorified 

Who  relies  on  Him 

And  leaves  to  Him 

All  his  earthly  affairs. 
Mohammed  es  Sadok  Pasha  Bey 
Possessor  of  the  Kingdom  of  Tunis 

To  the  Honorable  and  Honored 

Mr.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks 

Inventor  and  Maker 

Of  the  Fairbanks  Scale 
In  compliance  with  the  request 

Of  our  Prime  Minister  and 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 
And  on  account  of  the  Merits 

Which  distinguish  you 

We  send  you  this  Decoration 

Ornamented  with  our  Name 

And  which  is  of  the  second  Class 

COMMANDER  OF  OUR  ORDER  IFTAKAR 

May  you  wear  it  in  peace  and  prosperity!" 

Written  the  7th  Babia  Elawel  1294 
Kheradine,  Prime  Minister  and 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


XXX 


MISCELLANEOUS 


WAGON  —  LOOM  —  OIL  LAMPS  —  SEEING  THE  ELEPHANT  —  THE 
SKOOTER— SKATING  PARK — TOBOGGANING — FIELD  SPORTS — A 
CHIMNEY — COIN — RHYMES. 


THE    STORY   OF   A   WAGON 
CHAPTER   I— IT  ARRIVES   ON   THE   SCENE      1815 

"In  the  month  of  May,  1815,  Joseph  and  Phebe  Fairbanks 
came  to  this  town  in  a  dark  green  colored  one-horse  wagon  made 
by  their  son,  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  in  Brimfield,  Mass.  This 
wagon  had  one  broad  seat  attached  to  wooden  springs  running 
the  whole  length  of  the  wagon  box,  6%  feet  long.  It  had  no 
iron  springs.  This  was  the  first  pleasure  wagon  owned  in  our 
town." 

CHAPTER   II— IT  GOES  FROM   ONE  TO   ANOTHER 

"Thaddeus  Fairbanks  sold  that  wagon  to  Ephraim  Paddock; 
Paddock  sold  it  to  Marshall  Jones  whose  farm  was  two  miles 
west  of  the  Plain;  Jones  sold  it  to  Chauncey  Spaulding."  It 
was  not  sold  again,  but  continued  in  service  or  in  storage,  in  the 
Spaulding  Neighborhood  till  into  the  twentieth  century. 

CHAPTER  III— IT   BECOMES  ANTIQUATED      1876 

"In  the  burlesque  procession  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  this  Cen- 
tennial year,  was  an  antiquated  wagon  made  by  Mr.  Thaddeus 
Fairbanks  before  his  invention  of  the  platform  scales.     It  is  now 


396  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

owned  by  Chauncey  Spaulding.     That  it  has  been  in  constant  use 
so  many  years  is  good  evidence  that  it  was  well  made." 

CHAPTER  IV— IT  BEGINS   TO    LOOK   YELLOW      1883 

"A  rival  to  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes'  One  Horse  Shay  turned 
up  at  the  Caledonia  County  Fair  last  week.  It  was  built  69  years 
ago  by  Mr.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks.  It  is  a  four  wheeled  vehicle, 
springless,  and  shaped  something  like  a  flat  boat.  Its  single  seat 
is  about  double  the  height  of  those  in  modern  wagons,  and  the 
affair  is  painted  yellow.  This  wagon  is  almost  as  good  as  new, 
save  that  the  forward  axle  is  some  worn  and  one  or  two  spokes 
are  broken.  It  shows  few  signs  of  the  many  years'  service  it  has 
done." 

CHAPTER  V— IT   WAKES   MEMORIES  FAR   AWAY     1889 

"There  is  a  missionary  in  India,  who  was  Lois  Lee,  and  who 
with  her  friend,  Ellen  Bugbee,  attended  the  St.  Johnsbury  Acad- 
emy under  Prof.  Colby  of  honored  memory ;  and  those  two  girls, 
who  then  lived  in  the  Spaulding  Neighborhood,  were  driven  to 
school  and  back  daily  in  that  old  Fairbanks  buggy.  It  was  not, 
even  in  those  days,  noted  for  its  beauty  or  its  ease  of  motion,  but 
it  did  its  part  well  in  training  a  missionary  for  India — whose 
privilege  it  was  to  found  a  Girls'  Academy  where  hundreds  of 
women  who  could  not  read  or  write  have  had  a  christian  educa- 
tion, in  which  work  that  famous  old  buggy  may  be  said  to  have 
had  a  part."  l.  l.  p. 

CHAPTER  VI— IT  GETS  A   GOOD   BERTH     1909 

The  old  wagon,  having  outlived  the  period  of  its  active  use- 
fulness, was  invited  to  a  berth  in  the  Fairbanks  Museum ;  and, 
having  been  presented  by  its  owner,  was  transported  from  the 
Spaulding  stable  to  that  institution  in  1909.  After  being  properly 
groomed  and  adjusted  it  was  installed  in  the  Colonial  room  as  a 
cherished  relic  of  the  early  history  of  the  town. 

CHAPTER  VII— IT  TAKES   A   PLEASURE   RIDE      1911 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1911,  ninety-six  years  after  its  first  trip 
across  St.  Johnsbury  Plain,  the  old  green  "pleasure  wagon,"  now 


MISCELLANEOUS  397 

rather  more  yellow  than  green,  was  entrusted  for  a  day  to  the 
hands  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  By  them 
it  was  carefully  mounted  on  a  hay  rack  and  given  a  pleasure  ride 
over  its  original  course  on  Main  street,  admired  by  all  spectators 
as  a  quaint  feature  in  the  Colonial  parade  that  day. 

CHAPTER  VIII— IT  REPOSES  AMONG  CONTEMPORARIES 

The  old  wagon  rests  from  its  runnings  in  company  with  the 
old  two-wheeled  chaise,  the  old  wooden  plough,  the  old  house 
loom,  the  old  reels  and  hatchels  and  spinning  wheels  of  the  good 
old  days  of  its  prime. 

Salutations  to  these  ancient  and  honorable  for  good  service 
done  in  their  day. 

A   ST.   JOHNSBURY   LOOM 

Alpheus  Goss  built  his  log  house  in  1793,  on  a  pent  road  run- 
ning from  what  is  now  the  Center  Village ;  the  road  which  today 
runs  on  to  Paddock  Village.  In  1800,  he  replaced  this  with  the 
frame  house  which  descended  to  his  son,  Nathaniel  Goss,  and  is 
now  the  home  of  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Angelina  Goss  Fuller. 
Here  he  made  and  set  up  the  hand  loom  which  has  recently  come 
into  possession  of  the  Museum,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Fuller.  This 
loom  is  of  birch  wood,  five  feet  square  and  six  and  a  half  feet 
high,  with  its  accessories— harness,  skarne  and  warping  bars, 
loom  spools,  swifts  and  quill-wheel — and  tho  it  has  been  in  active 
service  thro  three  generations  is  still  in  excellent  preservation. 
Looms  of  this  description,  tho  not  always  of  this  superior  quality, 
were  in  nearly  all  the  well  to  do  homes  of  the  earlier  settlers  of 
the  town.  This  Goss  loom  undoubtedly  did  its  share  in  making 
up  the  27,733  yards  of  cloth  turned  out  from  St.  Johnsbury  looms 
in  the  year  1810.  The  thumping  of  looms  was  as  familiar  a 
household  sound  in  that  day  as  the  ring  of  the  telephone  is  to- 
day. 

Mrs.  Alice  Morse  Earle  refers  to  the  loom  of  our  ancestors 
as  being  "a  historic  machine  of  great  antiquity  and  dignity  ;  per- 
haps the  most  absolute  bequest  of  past  centuries  which  has  re- 


398  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

mained  unchanged  for  domestic  use.  You  may  see  a  loom  of 
this  same  sort  in  Giotto's  famous  fresco  in  the  Campanile  at 
Florence,  painted  in  1355.  During  the  seven  centuries  since 
Giotto's  day,  women  have  continued  weaving  on  just  such  looms, 
the  same  as  our  grandparents  had  in  their  homes." 

Note.  The  Indians  who  captured  Hannah  Dustin  in  1697,  tore  off  a 
strip  of  linen  from  the  loom  she  was  running ;  after  she  had  tomahawked 
them  she  wrapped  their  ten  scalps  in  this  same  linen,  a  portion  of  which, 
belonging  to  Mrs.  Lydia  Jones  Varnum,  a  descendant,  was  displayed  in  floral 
hall  at  the  Caledonia  Fair  of  1863. 


ELECTRIC   LIGHTS   AND   THE   OLD   OIL   LAMP 

The  South  Church  was  adorned  in  1852  with  whale  oil  lamps 
and  reflectors  mounted  on  the  walls,  which  did  their  best  to  illu- 
mine the  large  expanse.  On  Thanksgiving  eve,  1900,  at  a  union 
service  in  this  house,  the  pastor,  Edward  T.  Fairbanks,  al- 
luded to  the  new  century  electric  illumination  as  contrasted  with 
the  dim  old  smoky  oil  lamps.  Almost  immediately,  as  if  in- 
spired with  a  spirit  of  mischief,  the  lights  began  to  decline  and 
fixed  themselves  just  above  the  vanishing  point.  The  janitor  was 
obliged  to  go  out  in  the  neighborhood  and  beg  the  loan  of  an  oil 
lamp.  This,  which  he  bore  up  the  aisle  and  set  as  a  trophy  on 
the  pulpit,  furnished  light  for  the  rest  of  the  service.  It  was,  as 
it  were,  the  call  of  the  electrics  to  their  discarded  and  antiquated 
predecessors — "give  us  of  your  oil  for  our  lamps  are  gone  out." 
Rev.  Edward  M.  Chapman,  in  his  work  on  English  Literature, 
page  240,  cites  this  as  an  illustration  of  true  humor,  which  to  be 
genuine  must  be  casual,  an  inconguity  that  is  unpremeditated,  an 
accidental  coincidence  that  occasions  quiet  mirth. 

On  a  summer  evening  in  1903,  a  stroke  of  lightning  whirled 
the  eagle  at  the  mast  head  of  the  Athenaeum  to  the  ground  and 
extinguished  all  the  lights.  It  happened  just  then  that  the  at- 
tendant was  alone  in  the  building  and  she  had  to  move  around  in 
semi-darkness  setting  things  in  order  before  closing  for  the  night, 
till  Wm.  C.  Tyler  came  in  from  the  neighboring  store  bringing  an 
oil  lamp  by  the  light  of  which  a  suitable  exit  was  effected. 


MISCELLANEOUS  399 

If  the  above  events  had  been  recorded  among  the  Fables  of 
^Esop,  he  would  have  appended  this  observation  :  it  is  foolish  to 
throw  away  our  old  things,  they  will  come  in  handy  some  day. 

GOING  TO   SEE   THE   ELEPHANT 

On  a  day  in  July,  1821,  Royal  Ross  of  Waterford  asked  Eliza 
Mason  to  go  with  him  to  St.  Johnsbury  to  see  the  elephant. 
She  was  the  minister's  daughter;  the  family  lived  on  a  salary  of 
$100,  plus  provisions  that  might  amount  to  any  reasonable  sum ; 
for  example,  the  table  furnishment  one  winter  was  rye  bread  and 
milk  and  half  a  pig.  On  the  trip  to  see  the  St.  Johnsbury  elephant 
something  more  than  elephant  was  arrived  at,  and  the  next  trip 
that  Eliza  took  was  a  bridal  one  over  to  the  Ross  farm  house, 
where  she  promptly  spun  and  wove  thirty  yards  of  sheeting  ;  and 
from  that  time  on  continued  spinning,  weaving,  knitting,  stitch- 
ing, till  near  the  turn  of  the  century  in  her  ninety-sixth  year. 
During  these  later  years  she  was  coming  to  St.  Johnsbury  not  es- 
pecially to  see  the  elephant  but  to  visit  her  son  Chief  Justice 
Jonathan  Ross. 

As  time  went  on  other  people  came  here  to  see  the  elephant. 
Which  one  it  was  in  1821,  is  not  reported;  it  may  have  been 
Ahasuerus ;  but  1834  it  was  Columbus,  in  1849  it  was  Hannibal, 
in  1864  it  was  Tippoo  Sahib,  in  1882  it  was  Jumbo.  The  elephant 
Columbus  belonged  to  the  New  York  menagerie  which  exhibited 
near  Josiah  Gage's  Hotel  above  the  East  Village,  Sept.  11,  1834, 
from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  after  dinner.  A  reminiscence 
of  the  event  has  been  preserved  by  one  who  at  the  time  was  a 
lass  of  ten  years  : 

"We  were  asleep  in  the  trundle  bed  in  the  hotel.  In  the  middle  of  the 
night  there  was  a  loud  pounding  on  the  door.  My  father  got  up  and  went 
to  the  door,  then  came  back  and  said  'the  elephant  has  come.'  My  mother 
asked  how  large  the  elephant  was?  'Oh,  it  is  a  monstrous  big  creature  as 
high  as  the  door.'  We  children  wanted  to  get  up  and  go  at  once  to  see  the 
elephant,  but  we  had  to  wait  till  morning.  Besides  the  elephant  there  was  a 
camel  and  some  ponies.  In  the  morning  Mr.  Aaron  took  us  out  to  the  barn 
where  they  had  been  put  up,  and  there  we  were  allowed  to  sit  on  the 
camel's  back  between  the  humps,  and  then  to  feed  the  elephant.      The  show 


400  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

was  on  Saturday  ;  while  the  tent  was  being  set  up  in  the  yard  beside  our 
house,  a  crowd  collected  and  it  was  an  exciting  time.  The  admission  was  a 
ninepence,  and  it  was  worth  that  to  see  the  animals,  especially  the  elephant, 
said  to  be  the  first  ever  in  Vermont.  (The  writer  seems  not  to  have  known 
that  Ahasuerus  was  here  in  1821?)  There  were  a  good  many  monkeys,  and 
Alonzo,  three  years  old,  caught  hold  of  a  monkey  and  got  bitten;  the 
monkeys  had  been  taken  into  our  house  and  allowed  to  run  thro  the  hall. 
The  caravan  staid  with  us  over  Sunday,  and  in  the  next  night  went  over  to 
the  Plain  to  exhibit  there  ;  we  had  free  tickets  given  us  and  went,  con- 
sidering ourselves  highly  favored." 

It  was  on  the  twelfth  day  of  August,  1882,  that  Jumbo  arriv- 
ed in  this  town  having  only  recently  landed  in  America.  Here  he 
took  his  third  American  bath  in  the  waters  of  the  Passumpsic. 
There  was  some  apple  of  discord  between  Juno  and  Fritz,  the 
other  two  elephants,  while  in  the  river,  causing  the  deep  to  boil 
like  a  pot ;  Jumbo  serenely  looking  on,  maintaining  the  dignity  of 
Olympian  Jove. 

People  to  the  number  of  15,000  came  to  pay  their  respects  to 
Jumbo,  and  gave  him  the  satisfaction  of  surveying  an  orderly 
and  admiring  American  crowd.  No  one  had  ever  before  seen  a 
creature  of  13,000  lbs.  weight,  and  questions  were  asked  as  to  his 
daily  rations.  These  were  stated  in  general  to  be  200  lbs.  hay, 
2  bushels  oats,  12  loaves  bread,  a  bushel  of  biscuit,  3  quarts 
onions,  12  buckets  water,  with  indeterminate  amounts  of  oranges, 
apples,  figs,  bananas,  candy  and  other  nutritive  miscellany. 
Three  years  later,  after  the  wreck  that  ended  his  career  in  On- 
tario, the  taxidermist  found  in  his  stomach  a  collection  of  coins  of 
nearly  all  nations  besides  a  quantity  of  car-seals  that  he  had  ac- 
quired as  souvenirs  of  his  railroad  trips.  While  in  this  town 
Jumbo  indicated  an  inordinate  appetite  for  whiskey,  a  bottle  of 
which  he  would  empty  into  his  throat  at  a  gulp,  and  promptly 
hold  out  his  trunk  for  more.  He  had  no  suspicion  that  this  was 
a  dry  town.  None  of  the  400  men  who  had  the  circus  in  charge 
were  allowed  any  of  the  bottle  refreshment  that  Jumbo  was 
treated  to  ;  this  was  one  of  the  strict  rules  of  P.  T.  Barnum  ;  but 
they  drank  75  gallons  of  milk  fresh  from  the  cattle  on  a  thousand 
hills  of  Caledonia. 

Note— Thomas  Jefferson  also  went  to  see  the  elephant.  This  event  took 
place  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  later  in  the  same  year  he  was  elec- 


MISCELLANEOUS  401 

ted  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  Posterity  would  have  welcomed 
from  his  philosophic  pen  some  observations  about  the  elephant,  but  we  find 
nothing  more  than  certain  entries  in  his  account  book,  viz:  — 

1797,  March  10    Paid  for  seeing  elephant  25 

1797,  March  13    Pd  for  seeing  elk  75 

1791,  Dec.  20    Pd  seeing  a  lion  21  months  old  Hid 

The  Barnum  and  Bailey  Caravan  at  a  later  date  paraded  the 
streets  with  24  elephants ;  37  lions,  tigers  and  other  beasts  in 
open  cage  wagons ;  16  crowned  heads,  reigning  sovereigns  of  the 
world,  in  chariots  and  royal  robes,  escorts  accompanying — pretty 
nearly  a  mile  of  moving  miscellany.  The  entertainment  enter- 
tained 13,000  spectators  and  carried  away  $8000  as  a  pleasant 
reminder  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 

WINTER    SPORTS 
"THE    ST.    JOHNSBURY   SKOOTER" 

"There  are  many  things  that  impress  and  some  that  surprise 
the  stranger  who  visits  St.  Johnsbury  for  the  first  time.  If  it  is 
in  summer  he  is  impressed  with  the  beauties  of  the  place ;  if  in 
winter  he  is  surprised  to  see  the  skill  with  which  boys  ride  down 
hill  on  a  contrivance  called  the  skooter.  Instead  of  a  sled  with 
its  two  runners,  the  St.  Johnsbury  boy  takes  a  barrel  stave  for 
the  base  of  operations,  builds  a  seat  two  feet  above  it,  sits  astride 
the  contrivance,  and  with  marvelous  skill  and  speed  skoots  down 
those  steep  hillsides.  Sometimes  he  will  go  a  long  distance  bal- 
anced without  touching  a  foot  to  the  ground  ;  sometimes  a  touch 
with  either  toe  keeps  the  thing  upright  and  going  ;  sometimes  he 
lands  in  a  heap  at  the  foot  of  the  hill." 

This  contrivance,  such  a  curiosity  to  the  stranger  in  1871, 
was  no  wise  remarkable  to  the  native  born  citizen  who  had  been 
brought  up  on  it,  or  rather  carried  down  on  it,  from  boyhood. 
The  skooter  was  popularly  reputed  to  be  a  distinctly  St.  Johns- 
bury article.  Tradition  has  ascribed  the  invention  of  it  to  the 
author  of  this  book ;  quite  likely  as  with  many  other  inven- 
tions it  may  have  originated  simultaneously  in  more  than  one 
adventurous  mind.  It  is  true  however  that  more  skooters  were 
put  together  in  a  woodshed  at  the  south  end  of  the  Plain  about 


402  TOWN    OF   ST.   JOHNSBURY 

1846,  than  elsewhere  in  all  the  town  of  St.  Johnsbury.  Here  the 
boys  of  the  period  congregated  and  a  choice  line  of  barrel  staves 
was  always  in  readiness  for  the  manufacturing  industry  in  which 
all  hands  took  a  part.  More  than  forty  years  after,  a  New  York 
paper  announced  that  up  in  the  Mohawk  valley  a  new  device  for 
coasting  had  made  its  appearance ;  it  being  a  barrel  stave  fitted 
with  a  post  and  a  seat,  and  called  "a  jumper  ;"  possibly  derived 
from  the  Indians  ?  This  showed  no  advance  on  the  primitive 
type  ;  meanwhile  the  evolution  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  skooter  had 
resulted  in  a  steel  runner  with  iron-rod  uprights  and  a  shapely 
seat  painted  red ;  but  no  generation  of  St.  Johnsbury  lads  ever 
generated  more  fun  on  their  steel  shod  skooters  than  the  boys  of 
forty-six  got  out  of  the  old  barrel  stave  equipments,  the  work  of 
their  own  hands. 

The  period  of  the  fifties  witnessed  the  advent  of  the 
traverse-sled.  This  not  only  multiplied  the  proportions  but 
also  the  possibilities  of  the  single  ordinary  sled.  Being  any- 
where from  six  to  ten  feet  in  length  its  smooth  or  cushioned  seat 
was  capable  of  carrying  a  very  considerable  number  of  snugly 
packed  riders  with  tremendous  momentum  either  to  a  gentle 
pause  at  the  terminal,  or  to  a  triumphant  catastrophe  somewhere 
on  the  way.  In  those  days  one  could  mount  a  sled  or  skooter  at 
the  top  of  Warner  Hill  on  Summer  street  and  directly  after  find 
himself  amongst  the  forges  of  the  blacksmith  shop  in  the  scale 
works.  Under  present  day  conditions  that  kind  of  entrance  into 
the  factory  is  barred,  and  coasting  on  the  village  streets  is  not 
considered  advantageous  to  the  public  welfare  or  convenience. 

THE  BUTLER  SKATING  PARK 

In  1860,  Beauman  Butler  graded  and  flooded  eight  acres  of 
the  meadows  lying  east  of  the  old  road  to  the  Center  Village. 
This  tract  was  enclosed  with  a  high  tight  fence,  between  which  and 
the  inner  railing  was  a  driveway  and  a  small  building  provided 
with  stove  and  lunch  counter.  It  was  arranged  to  have  the  ice 
flowed  every  night  giving  a  fresh  skating  surface  each  day. 
Tickets  were  issued  at  ten  cents  for  each  admittance,  and  season 


MISCELLANEOUS  403 

tickets  at  one  dollar,  for  either  skating  or  driving  round.  This 
Park  was  opened  November  30,  1860,  on  which  day  about  seventy- 
five  skaters  were  on  the  ice,  and  a  large  number  of  spectators 
within  the  gates.  On  pleasant  evenings  there  would  be  as  many 
as  two  hundred  skaters.  For  a  time  the  novelty,  safety  and  at- 
tractiveness of  this  Skating  Park  brought  in  considerable  patron- 
age, but  it  proved  to  be  too  far  away  from  the  main  villages,  and 
after  one  season's  trial  it  became  evident  that  the  enterprise  must 
prove  a  failure.  It  was  financially  disastrous  to  the  projector  and 
ultimately  cost  him  the  beautiful  farm  which  had  been  in  the 
Butler  family  since  Nathaniel  Edson  left  it  about  1809. 

A  favorite  skating  spot  was  the  artificial  pond  in  the  hollow 
west  of  Gov.  Erastus  Fairbanks'  house,  where  the  lumber  yard 
now  is ;  this  pond  was  after  a  while  drained  away  for  sanitary 
reasons.  In  later  years  the  ice  on  Passumpsic  River  near  Rail- 
road street  has  been  successfully  flowed  and  a  very  accessible 
skating  surface  provided.  Viewed  from  the  Summerville  bridge 
it  is  a  merry  scene  one  looks  upon  of  an  afternoon  or  evening 
when  the  ice  is  alive  with  circling  skaters.  In  1856,  a  quartet,  of 
which  the  writer  was  one,  found  a  ten-mile  skating  park  down 
which  they  sped  to  the  mouth  of  the  Passumpsic,  and  up  which 
they  toiled  in  a  driving  snow  storm. 

TOBOGGANING 

In  the  early  winter  of  1886,  the  town  was  struck  by  a  tobog- 
gan craze  from  Canada.  Visitors  to  the  winter  sports  carnival 
at  Montreal  brought  back  such  enthusiasm  for  these  out-door  di- 
versions that  a  Toboggan  Club  was  formed  with  stock  of  $200, 
afterward  increased  to  $300  at  $5  a  share.  In  January,  1887,  a 
chute  was  erected,  the  base  resting  on  Mt.  Pleasant  street,  the 
track  running  westerly  between  the  buildings  of  Main  and  Sum- 
mer streets.  The  chute  was  40  feet  high,  100  feet  long,  "stand- 
ing on  the  only  level  spot  in  a  town  made  up  of  hills."  It  was  for- 
mally opened  February  1,  and  frequented  thereafter  day  and  even- 
ing, by  throngs  of  sliders,  many  of  them  in  picturesque  toboggan 
suits.  Tickets  for  the  season  were  $1.50.  After  two  seasons  of 
tobogganing  the  structure  was  taken  'down,   and  not  re-erected. 


404  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Every  now  and  then  one  will  see  in  the  homes  a  superannuated 
toboggan  fitted  up  as  a  book  case. 

At  one  of  the  Y.  M.   C.  A.   functions  the  following  lines  by 
James  Ritchie  were  read: — 

"Toboggan  slides  as  we  all  know 

Are  only  built  when  there's  plenty  of  snow  ; 

Some  are  made  by  kind  Nature's  hand, 

But  ours  is  built  on  Carpenter's  land. 
It  stands  erected  forty  feet  high, 
Down  which  the  tobogganists  swiftly  fly ! 

Some  with  suits  of  blue  and  gold, 

Others  whose  suits  are  rusty  and  old. 
To  slide  on  a  toboggan — O  what  fun  ! 
Come,  let's  get  on,  both  old  and  young  ; 

In  behalf  of  the  members  I  wish  to  extend 

A  cordial  invitation  to  alt  to  attend  ; 
It's  the  latest  popular  amusement  of  the  day 
And  surely  ought  to  be  liked  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A," 

SNOW    SHOEING 

It  was  not  till  about  1900  that  snow  shoes  began  to  be  seen  here 
very  much.  Interest  in  this  winter  exercise  began  quietly,  but  it 
had  the  steady  increase  which  it  merited  and  became  widely  popu- 
lar ;  clubs  were  formed  and  long  evening  tramps  were  taken  over 
fields  and  fences,  hills  and  forests,  winding  up  with  very  substan- 
tial refreshments  about  the  midnight  hour.  At  the  present  time 
there  are  many  hundreds  of  snow  shoers  traversing  the  winter 
hillsides  and  valleys  ;  during  one  season  a  local  dealer  sold  117 
pairs.  An  occasional  tramper  may  be  seen  pursuing  his  solitary 
way  on  the  more  elongated  foot  gear  of  the  ski. 

FIELD    SPORTS 

archery  "He  could  shoot  ten  arrows  upward, 

Shoot  them  with  such  strength  and  swiftness 
That  the  tenth  had  left  the  bow-string 
Ere  the  first  to  earth  had  fallen." 

It  is  not  recorded  that  the  experts  of  the  Robin  Hood  and  the 
Idlewild  Archery  Clubs  ever  out-did  Hiawatha  in   bow  and  arrow 


MISCELLANEOUS  405 

work.  But  they  successfully  practiced  the  art  of  archery  on  the 
lawns  and  open  places  during  the  later  seventies,  and  no  reason 
is  given  why  so  graceful  a  pastime  under  names  so  romantic 
should  have  suffered  a  decline.  Archery  as  a  serious  matter  was 
set  forth  entertainingly  at  the  Pageant  when  the  arrows  of  the 
Indians  after  felling  the  moose  were  trained  on  the  rangers  led  by 
Scouts  Nash  and  Stark. 

athletics.  The  old-time  wrestling  matches  were  left  far  in 
the  background  by  the  more  varied  feats  of  strength  and  skill 
which  held  the  field  in  later  years.  These  were  not  however  upon 
the  village  streets  but  down  on  the  Fair  Grounds.  For  several 
years  a  regular  feature  of  the  annual  Odd  Fellow  functions  was 
the  athletic  tournament  held  there.  All  the  regular  out-door 
stunts  were  adroitly  done  with  accompanying  applause  from  en- 
thusiastic crowds  of  spectators. 

ball  games.  As  to  location  the  Academy  Campus  is  not 
right  in  the  center  of  things,  but  when  a  ball  game  is  on,  it  is  the 
center  of  attraction  for  hundreds  of  people.  The  sheltered  seats 
of  the  balcony  and  the  open  ones  of  the  bleachers  are  filled  by 
those  who  have  safely  crossed  the  railroad  track  and  made  entries 
with  ticket  ;  the  dry  bridge  and  slopes  adjoining  offer  advantage- 
ous standing  ground  for  a  fringe  of  satisfied  spectators  whose  ap- 
parent investment  in  the  game  is  not  very  large.  Among  them 
however  quite  likely  are  some  who,  with  other  citizens,  have  con- 
tributed generously  to  the  up-keep  and  suitable  condition  of  the 
Campus.  For  on  this  meadow  are  played  most  of  the  games  of 
the  village  clubs  as  well  as  those  of  the  Academy  and  of  clubs 
that  come  in  from  other  towns  to  contest  for  championships. 

golf  and  tennis.  In  1899  the  high  pasture  lands  north- 
west of  the  Plain  belonging  to  Underclyffe,  including  about 
twenty  acres,  were  set  apart  and  converted  into  golf  grounds.  No 
better  spot  could  have  been  found  for  the  purpose,  being  readily 
accessible  and  sufficiently  uneven  in  surface  to  give  scope  for 
either  easy  or  difficult  playing,  and  commanding  fine  views  of  the 
village  and  its  environment.  The  links  were  laid  out  by  Alex  H. 
Findley  of  Boston ;  he  was  born  and  bred  to  the  game,  as  it  were, 
in  Scotland,  and  was  accounted  the  champion  golf  player  of  the 


406  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

world.  He  laid  a  course  of  nine  holes  ranging  from  100  to  260 
feet  apart,  and  remarked  that  this  was  one  of  the  finest  golf 
grounds  in  the  country,  combining  so  many  hazards  with  long 
drives  up  and  down  the  hillside. 

Golf  at  once  became  the  most  popular  of  all  field  sports,  the 
links  were  thronged  with  eager  and  expert  players.  At  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  grounds,  adjoining  the  Club  House,  a  tennis 
court  was  constructed,  and  thereafter  a  tennis  club  was  formed. 
Here  annual  tournaments  have  been  held,  sometimes  for 
the  championship  of  Vermont  or  of  New  England;  occasionally 
among  participants  in  these  field  sports  have  been  seen  accom- 
plished players  from  distant  states  of  the  Union. 

The  Old  Pine  Golf  Club  taking  its  name  from  the  patriarchal 
pine  at  the  summit  of  the  grounds,  was  organized  September 
1899 ;  after  fourteen  years  of  vigorous  activities  and  accomplish- 
ments its  scope  was  broadened  and  the  name  adopted  was  the  Old 
Pine  Country  Club.  The  grounds  were  ornamented  in  1902  with  an 
attractive  Club  House  of  16  by  30  feet  dimensions  with  broad 
verandas ;  a  popular  resort  for  unconventional  social  events  and 
accompanying  festivities. 

CHIMNEY   AND    WHEEL 

Asa  Lee  made  the  first  brick  in  this  town  during  the  summer 
of  1791.  The  centennial  of  that  event  was  commemorated,  tho 
without  intention,  in  the  summer  of  1891,  when  192,000  brick 
were  built  into  the  new  chimney  of  the  scale  works.  This  carried 
brick  higher  up  in  the  air  than  any  other  structure  in  the  state  at 
that  time,  namely  151  feet  from  the  rock  [bed.  Standing  as  it 
does  on  a  low  level  its  dimensions  are  not  readily  estimated.  The 
diameter  is  13  feet ;  the  circular  wall  38  inches  thick  encloses  a 
6}4  inch  flue.  The  last  brick  was  laid  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  and 
as  part  of  the  ceremony  the  head  of  J.  Allen  Dexter,  master 
mason,  was  decorated  with  a  high  silk  hat. 

This  chimney  was  put  up  to  serve  the  new  engine,  the  fifth 
in  succession  of  steam  engines  at  the  factory.  The  first  one,  in- 
stalled during  the  early  thirties  was  an  eight-horse-power  engine  ; 
this  was  replaced  by  a  second,  and  that  by  a  third  of  larger  di- 


MISCELLANEOUS  407 

mensions.  In  1880,  the  fourth,  which  was  a  250  horse-power 
engine  began  its  work  and  ran  the  machinery  for  21  years,  till  in 
1891  a  double  compound  condensing  engine  500  horse-power  was 
installed,  having  four  steel  boilers  17  feet  in  length,  and  a  weight 
of  80,000  lbs.  The  fly  wheel  is  24  feet  diameter  with  a  42  inch 
face.  The  belt,  1200  pounds  weight  and  36  inches  wide,  travels 
about  a  mile  a  minute. 

The  fly  wheel  of  the  old  engine,  16  feet  diameter,  has  been 
attached  to  the  main  shaft  as  a  driving  pulley.  It  makes  100  rev- 
olutions a  minute  to  67  revolutions  of  the  big  wheel.  The  ques- 
tion was  put  out  how  many  miles  did  that  old  sixteen-foot  wheel 
travel  during  the  21  years  of  its  going,  reckoning  ten  hours  a 
day,  300  days  a  year  ?  The  solution  was  worked  out  by  two 
school  girls  of  ten  and  thirteen  years  of  age : — 

16  feet  diameter  x  by  3.1416  equals  50.2656  feet,  circumference  of  wheel. 

10  years  x  by  60  x  60  equals  36,000  seconds;  also  number  of  revolutions 
in  one  day. 

36,000  seconds  x  300  equals  10,800,000  seconds  ;  also  no.  of  revolutions  in 
one  year. 

10,800,000  x  21  equals  226,800,000  seconds  and  revolutions  in  21  years. 

226,800,000  x  50.2656  equals  11,400,238,080  feet. 

11,400,238,080  divided  by  5280  feet  in  a  mile  equals  2,159,136  miles  trav- 
eled in  21  years. 

MYSTERY  OF   THE    COIN 

Treasure-trove  would  be  the  last  thing  to  look  for  in  a  place 
so  barren  as  this  is  of  anything  out  of  the  ordinary.  Yet  once  in 
a  while  the  spade  has  yielded  something  more  than  a  hole  in  the 
ground. 

Some  thirty-six  years  ago  men  were  digging  foundations  for 
a  new  locomotive  round-house.  A  shovel  full  of  gravel  came  up 
in  which  Alanson  Burt  caught  sight  of  a  small  round  thing  which 
did  not  look  to  him  like  a  pebble.  He  picked  it  up,  rubbed  it 
clean,  and  found  it  was  a  coin,  which  however  would  not  classify 
with  specie  then  in  current  circulation.  An  expert  in  numismatics 
presently  identified  it  as  a  votive  Roman  coin  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, bearing  the  image  and  superscription  of  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantine. 


408  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

This  answered  the  what,  but  not  the  how.  How  came  this 
antique  coin  down  here,  buried  six  feet  deep  in  a  Vermont  gravel 
bed  ?  a  place  presumably  never  before  pricked  by  the  point  of  a 
spade.  This  was  not  the  site  of  a  military  camp  of  either 
Romans,  Gauls  or  Visigoths.  Neither  Iroquois  nor  Algonquin 
aborigines  carried  Roman  coin  in  their  wampum  belts.  The  early 
scouts  and  pioneers  were  not  making  coin  collections  other  than 
shillings  and  pence.  Shall  we  entertain  the  conjecture  then  that 
the  coin  of  Constantine  was  buried  here  by  some  one  contriving  a 
wonder-find  like  the  Cardiff  giant  ?  The  mystery  is  no  nearer  so- 
lution now  than  on  the  day  that  Alanson  Burt  interrogated 
Charles  H.  Horton  and  left  the  coin  with  him  for  safe  keeping. 

That  same  year  interrogations  arose  over  another  buried 
coin  discovered  in  that  vicinity.  This  was  a  Spanish  silver  dollar 
thrown  up  in  the  process  of  digging  a  post  hole  on  the  neighbor- 
ing island  in  Passumpsic  river.  It  bore  the  date  of  1728.  And 
how  did  it  ever  find  its  way  into  the  bosom  of  Upper  Grape 
Island  ?  Had  it  been  found  half  a  mile  farther  up  the  stream  we 
would  credit  it  to  Stephen  Nash  who  camped  there  for  a  night 
when  scouting  for  Indians  in  1755.  Thirty-five  years  later  Jona- 
than Arnold  made  his  way  up  this  river  in  a  dug-out,  and  may 
have  moored  at  this  island,  may  have  camped  over  night  here, 
may  have  accidentally  dropped  a  silver  dollar  here,  which  the 
floods  of  a  century  may  have  buried  under  four  feet  of  river  sand. 
On  the  other  hand  the  Doctor  may  not  have  had  a  Spanish  dollar 
to  leave  on  that  island ;  most  of  his  funds  at  that  time  were  in  de- 
preciated continental  currency.  What  may  have  been,  is,  up  to 
this  date,  the  only  answer  to  the  mystery  of  our  buried  coins. 

VILLAGE    RHYMES 
OF   OLD   TIMES 

THE  BOOT  AND  SHOE  MAN,    1830 

"Blow,  O  blow  !  ye  gentle  breezes! 

All  among  the  leaves  and  treeses! 
Sing,  O  sing!  ye  heavenly  muses 

And  I  will  mend  your  boots  and  shoeses." 


MISCELLANEOUS  409 

J.  M.  HILL,    FASHIONABLE   TAILOR,  1849 

"Four  doors  north  of  the  South  Bridge,  St.  Johnsbury  Centre 
Invites  the  gents  both  great  and  small 
Of  every  name  to  make  a  call. 

He  with  ready  goose  and  shears 

Has  proved  his  skill  for  many  years 
And  in  the  mastery  of  his  art 
Has  ever  cut  a  noble  part. 

And  if  you  wish  a  short  delay 

He'll  always  wait  awhile  for  pay  ; 
And  what  was  nature's  oversight 
In  form  or  make,  he'll  set  right." 

(Fashions  Received  Quarterly) 
THE   OLD  VILLAGE   PUMP,     1851 

"Walking  in  darkness  last  night  I  ran  k'-thump 
Against  the  handle  of  the  old  village  pump 
That  stands  round  the  corner  of  Gilson's  new  building. 
The  pump  didn't  fall,  but  that  is  no  matter  ; 
I  found  myself  flat  as  a  pancake  or  flatter. 

Since  then  a  question  has  been  propounded, 

A  question  on  law  and  on  justice  founded  ; 

To  our  city  fathers  I  wish  to  show  it ; 

Which  was  out  of  its  place— the  pump  or  the  poet? 

Now  a  pump  that  won't  pump  when  it  stands  in  the  highway 

Might  be  easily  moved  in  some  roguish  or  sly  way  ; 

But  that  would  not  meet  with  an  honest  approval, 

So  if  the  pump's  out  of  place  and  not  the  poet 

Let  our  city  fathers  speedily  show  it 

By  openly  voting  a  public  removal." 

Note.     The  old  pump  was  removed. 

SIGN  CARRIED   OFF,    1853 

"The  ancient  sign  of  the  Old  Daguerreen 
No  more  over  E.  Hall's  store  may  be  seen  ; 
For  some  rascally  rogues  the  other  night 
Took  it  down  and  carried  it  out  of  sight. 

Perhaps  it  was  done  from  spite  or  from  spleen, 
Or  perhaps  to  plague  the  Old  Daguerreen  ; 

But  the  Old  Daguerreen  he'll  pocket  the  wrong 

And  laugh  at  the  rogues  this  time  in  his  song. 


410  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Their  labor  of  love  it  was  all  in  vain, 
For  the  Old  Daguerreen  still  works  on  the  Plain  ; 
And  the  people  will  come  as  they  came  before 
To  the  Daguerreen's  rooms  over  E.  Hall's  Store. 

And  the  crowds  that  come  in  and  the  crowds  that  go  out 
Tell  the  world  what  the  Old  Daguerreen  is  about ; 
And  the  pictures  he  takes  they  will  plainly  attest 
That  the  Old  Daguerreen  is  ahead  of  the  rest." 

F.  B.  Gage. 

GOOD  BYE  :  ST.  JOHNSBURY,    1856 

1.  "Fare  thee  well,  sweet  village— 

I  must  hence  away  ; 
Sterner  duties  call  me, 
Haste  I  to  obey. 

2.  But,  sweet  mountain  village, 

I  would  linger  still- 
Linger  by  the  brooklet, 
Linger  on  the  hill. 

3.  Sad  of  heart  I  leave  thee, 

Leave  the  hallowed  spot, 
With  the  mountains  swelling 
Round  my  father's  cot. 

4.  With  the  mists  of  morning, 

Creeping  up  thy  hills ; 

With  the  gladsome  music 

Of  thy  laughing  rills. 

5.  Fare  thee  well,  sweet  village, 

Mountains,  dells  and  rills  ; 
Farewell,  but  ne'er  forgotten, 
The  vill  among  the  hills."  F.  L. 


ERASTUS   FAIRBANKS  THADDEUS   FAIRBANKS 

JOSEPH    PADDOCK   FAIRBANKS 

HORACE    FAIRBANKS  FRANKLIN    FAIRBANKS 

BUILDERS  OF  THE  SCALE  INDUSTRY 


XXXI 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE 


"Then  the  inquiring  mind  of  a  man  was  led  on  from  one  device  to  an- 
other; along  imaginary  queer-shaped  levers,  over  knife-edges,  up  perpen- 
dicular rods,  amongst  poises  and  beams  and  loops;  till  at  length,  gradually- 
outlining  itself  through  the  obscurity  came  the  combination  of  levers  that 
makes  the  platform  scale  of  today."  The  Wrought  Brim 


"Jonathun  ffayerbancke"  of  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire, 
England,  migrated  to  Massachusetts  in  1633,  and  built  in  Dedham 
the  now  quaint  and  famous  structure  known  as  the  Old  Fairbanks 
House,  of  which  his  descendants  in  America  are  the  present 
owners  and  custodians.  In  the  sixth  generation  from  Jonathan 
was  Major  Joseph  Fairbanks  of  Brimfleld,  who  came  to  St.  Johns- 
bury  in  the  spring  of  1815,  and  set  up  a  grist  and  saw  mill  on 
Sleepers  River.  His  sons  having  a  practical  and  mechanical  turn 
of  mind,  employed  themselves  in  a  small  wheelwright  and  foun- 
dry business,  which  in  time  developed  into  a  manufactory  of 
hoes,  pitchforks,  cast-iron  plows  and  stoves. 

In  1830,  having  gained  a  reputation  for  skill  and  reliability, 
they  were  awarded  a  contract  for  making  hemp-dressing  machines, 
required  by  a  new  industry  then  springing  up.  This  presently  ne- 
cessitated some  means  of  weighing  rough  hemp  by  wagon  loads. 
A  rude  apparatus  was  therefore  contrived  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks, 
second  son  of  Joseph,  by  which  chains  dropping  from  a  steelyard 
beam  suspended  on  a  high  frame  could  grapple  the  wheel  axles, 
lift  the  load  and  get  its  weight  approximately.  This  arrangement 
answered  the  purpose  fairly  well,  but  it  was  too  awkward  and  in- 
efficient to  suit  the  mind  of  the  man ;  he  thought  something  better 


412  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

might  be  devised,  and  while  exercising  his  ingenuity  upon  it,  he 
caught  the  idea,  wholly  novel  to  him,  of  a  platform  resting  on 
levers,  which  embodied  the  principle  of  what  is  now  known  as  the 
platform  scale.  Indeed,  though  not  suspected,  a  new  age  had 
dawned.  The  ancient  reign  of  Astraea  was  disturbed,  the  steel- 
yard of  old  Rome  was  taking  its  departure.  The  new  scale  was 
at  hand,  getting  ready  to  lift  the  loaded  train  from  the  track  as  a 
very  little  thing ;  to  bear  on  its  platform  the  light  or  ponderous 
traffic  of  the  world. 

In  making  the  first  scale  a  pit  was  dug  in  which  was  placed  a 
triangular  lever,  suspended  at  its  point  from  a  steelyard  beam  ; 
on  this  was  balanced  a  platform  level  with  the  ground,  held  in 
position  by  chains  attached  to  posts.  A  team  could  then  be 
driven  on  and  the  weight  determined.  This  was  a  clumsy  affair, 
but  for  practical  use  it  was  so  much  better  than  anything  then 
existing,  that  a  patent  was  applied  for.  Some  machines  were 
made  and  an  agent  was  engaged  to  try  and  sell  them.  "He  was  to 
take  the  stage  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  Mr.  Fairbanks 
sat  up  to  call  him  and  to  start  a  fire  for  breakfast.  He  was  think- 
ing how  to  build  and  improve  his  scales,  when  it  occurred  to  him 
that  with  two  A-shaped  levers,  or  four  straight  levers  meeting  at 
the  steelyard  rod,  or  hanging  from  one  that  hung  upon  the  steel- 
yard rod,  he  could  secure  four  knife-edge  supports  for  his  plat- 
form, from  all  of  which  the  leverage  as  related  to  the  steelyard 
beam  might  be  the  same.  As  a  practical  weighing  machine  that 
was  the  birth  of  the  modern  scale." 

"Mr.  Fairbanks  quietly  woke  the  agent,  saying  that  he  need 
not  go  for  a  few  days,  told  his  wife  there  would  be  no  early 
breakfast  to  get,  as  he  had  a  plan  that  he  thought  was  very  val- 
uable, and  rested — from  that  hour  the  leading  scale-maker  of  the 
world."  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  as  early  as  1826  Thaddeus 
Fairbanks  had  patented  the  cast-iron  plow,  regarded  at  that  time 
with  suspicion  by  farmers ;  also  the  Fairbanks  cook  stove.  He 
was  also  the  original  inventor  of  the  method  now  universally 
adopted  in  construction  of  refrigerators,  but  having  neither  time 
nor  capital  to  give  to  this,  he  relinquished  his  rights  in  it,  which 
subsequently  were  valued  at  a  million  dollars.     From  some  notes 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  413 

made  by  him  half  a  century  after  the  first  scales  were  made  the 
following  reminiscence  is  taken  : — 

"My  plans  were  all  made  in  the  night,  frequently  working  nearly  all 
night.  For  lack  of  tools  the  scale  work  all  had  to  be  finished  by  hand,  and 
this  with  work  on  patterns,  etc.,  required  all  my  time  during  the  day  in  the 
shops.  Faulty  work  was  sure  to  be  sent  out  unless  I  was  watching  all  the 
time  ;  men  had  to  be  educated  to  do  the  simplest  things  ;  there  was  no  uni- 
form machine-work  as  now ;  it  was  15  years  before  we  had  a  planer  in  the 
shop.  In  the  south  end  of  the  old  red  shop  Mr.  Levi  Fuller  and  I  made  the 
platform  scale  patterns  from  number  1  to  10,  also  in  the  west  end  of  the  grist 
mill  chamber  the  number  one  and  two  iron  lever  hay  scales.  Our  casting 
was  done  in  a  shed  annexed  to  the  old  forge ;  we  were  still  in  want  of  funds 
but  a  larger  building  was  finally  put  up  ;  it  devolved  on  me  to  put  in  the 
cupola  and  fixtures,  blast,  etc.,  and  start  operations.  I  moulded  and  took 
the  melting  often  ;  there  was  no  other  way  to  learn  what  made  the  unsound 
stogy  places  and  air  blisters  ;  in  order  to  teach  the  men  how  to  make  sound 
castings  I  had  to  work  several  months  mixing  metals  and  testing  their  com- 
position. 

"In  making  plans  for  scales  I  found  three  things  to  be  considered— the 
strength  of  material,  the  best  shape  to  secure  greatest  strength  with  least 
material,  and  the  beauty  and  symmetry  of  outside  appearance.  To  imagine 
what  the  tastes  and  notions  of  men  in  reference  to  the  right  proportioning 
and  beauty  of  this  then  new  article  would  be,  was  difficult ;  but  now  after 
the  lapse  of  fifty  years  our  platform  scales  are  made  precisely  after  the  orig- 
inal design,  and  all  other  makers  follow  the  same." 

.  The  original  platform  scales  of  1830  were  built  of  wood,  and 
were  soon  introduced  as  town  hay  scales  among  the  villages  of 
Vermont.  Nothing  further  than  this  was  at  the  time  contem- 
plated. But  it  appeared  that  the  principle  was  capable  of  much 
wider  application.  New  styles  and  sorts  were  gradually  invented, 
including  at  first  portable  platform,  warehouse  and  counter  scales, 
and  later,  railroad-track,  canal,  elevator  and  live-stock  scales  ; 
also  postal  and  druggist  balances ;  comprising  many  hundred 
varieties,  and  ranging  from  one-tenth  of  a  grain  to  five  hundred 
tons.  One  result  of  the  introduction  of  these  weighing  machines 
was  an  entire  change  in  methods  of  trade  transactions,  the  old 
fashion  of  measure  and  count  giving  way  to  that  of  weight, 
whether  of  hay,  coal,  grain,  or  live  stock.  It  is  on  record  at  the 
United  States  Patent  Office  that  the  track  scale  has  effected  a 
complete  revolution  in  railway  transportation. 


414  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

A  serious  difficulty  in  the  early  days  of  scale-making  was 
that  of  construction.  Plans,  machinery  and  scales  had  to  be  made 
by  the  inventor,  till  men  could  be  trained  to  the  work.  This  was 
done  in  two  or  three  inadequate  shops  or  sheds.  "There  were  no 
tools  except  for  half  a  dozen  blacksmiths,  and  one  old  wooden  bed- 
lathe,  and  later,  a  few  vises  and  anvils  found  in  a  Boston  junk 
shop."  Neither  was  there  any  capital  to  speak  of.  As  Mr.  Fair- 
banks once  remarked,  to  make  everything  out  of  nothing  was  a 
difficult  task ;  a  task  withal  that  might  never  have  been  achieved 
had  not  his  ingenuity,  tenacity  and  mechanical  skill  been  supple- 
mented by  the  remarkable  business  and  executive  abilities  of  his 
brothers. 

In  1834,  the  three  brothers,  Erastus,  Thaddeus  and  Joseph 
P.,  founded  the  firm  of  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  and  Co.  They  were 
men  of  strong  individuality,  serious-minded,  plain  in  habit,  pro- 
foundly conscientious,  most  happily  adapted  to  each  other  in  the 
partnership. 

Joseph,  fifteen  years  younger  than  Erastus,  had  a  quick, 
strong,  capacious  mind,  remarkably  well  balanced,  and  made  bril- 
liant attainments  in  law,  business,  science,  history,  literature  and 
practical  life  in  all  its  phases.  In  finance,  in  details  of  the  count- 
ing-room, in  all  delicate  dealings  with  men  and  corporations,  his 
sagacity,  alertness  of  thought  and  sound  judgment  won  the  public 
confidence  and  gave  steadiness  and  solid  quality  to  the  business. 
But  his  intensity  of  application  proved  fatal ;  he  died  in  1855  at 
the  age  of  forty-eight,  universally  beloved  for  the  worth  and 
beauty  of  his   character. 

Erastus,  the  elder  brother,  was  for  thirty  years,  i.  e.,  till  his 
death,  the  head  of  the  firm.  He  was  a  born  leader,  well  trained 
in  the  early  school  of  adversity,  a  man  of  indomitable  purpose, 
large  views,  solidity  of  personal  character  and  fine  presence.  He 
became  prominent  in  public  life  and  a  trusted  leader  in  civil  af- 
fairs ;  he  secured  the  construction  of  the  Passumpsic  River  Rail- 
road of  which  he  was  first  president ;  was  made  governor  of  Ver- 
mont in  1852 ;  again  in  1860,  when  on  the  breaking  out  of  the 
civil  war  the  state  placed  a  million  of  dollars  at  his  disposal,  rely- 
ing entirely  on  his  judgment  as  to  its   use — a   mark  of  confidence 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  415 

amply  justified,  for  his  administration  of  state  was,  like  that  of 
his  private  business,  energetic,  true,  firm,  successful.  He  died  in 
1864,  aged  seventy-two  years. 

Thaddeus,  entirely  averse  to  public  life,  gave  his  undivided 
work  of  brains  and  hand  for  fifty-five  years  to  the  mechanical  de- 
partment of  the  business,  continuously  advancing  on  his  original 
invention,  constructing  special  machinery,  devising  new  applica- 
tions for  which  he  secured  a  series  of  patents,  thirty-two  in 
number.     He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety  in  1886. 

With  three  such  men,  of  different  gifts,  yet  of  one  mind ;  of 
strong  character,  of  tenacious  purposes  and  generous  ideals,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  account  for  the  fine  issue  of  their  joint  enterprise. 
The  public  soon  learned  that  whatever  bore  the  name  of  Fairbanks 
had  on  it  the  stamp  of  reliability.  Sternest  integrity  presided  over 
the  business,  truth  guided  its  affairs,  honor  entered  into  every 
detail  of  construction — as  befitted  an  industry  that  was  furnishing 
the  world  with  standards  of  weight  for  business  accuracy.  From 
the  first,  every  instrument  constructed  in  these  works  embodied 
an  ideal  ;  it  was  more  than  a  handy  contrivance,  it  was  a  symbol 
of  equity  in  trade  ;  on  its  delicate  pivots  were  revealed  the  eter- 
nal principles  of  right,  precision,  equipoise  ;  qualities  for  char- 
acter as  well  as  necessities  in  traffic.  The  final  touch  upon  each 
machine  has  always  been  given  by  the  sealer,  who,  by  affixing  to 
it  his  name  and  the  number,  is  made  responsible  for  that  scale. 
Rarely  has  such  a  thing  been  known  as  the  return  of  a  scale  ;  the 
durability  as  well  as  accuracy  of  material  and  work  appears  in  the 
continuous  use  of  the  scales  made  in  the  earlier  years.  Scale 
number  thirty,  for  example,  portable  platform,  made  about  1833 
and  subjected  to  almost  daily  use  ever  since,  is  still  in  every  day 
service  in  the  store  to  which  it  was  originally  shipped  ;  this  is 
mentioned  as  an  illustrative  case,  which  recently  fell  under  the 
eye  of  the  writer. 

The  matter  of  accuracy  was  of  course  a  supreme  considera- 
tion, and  from  the  first  has  received  most  scrutinizing  attention. 
Not  only  must  the  trip  scale  for  weighing  silk  be  sensitive  to  the 
one-hundredth  part  of  an  ounce,  but  the  canal  scale  of  hundreds  of 
tons  must  respond  to  the  fraction  of  a  pound.      After  the  regis- 


416  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

tering  of  the  weight  of  a  boat  on  the  weighlock  scale  at  Albany, 
1856,  the  captain  stepped  on  board,  at  which  the  beam  indicated 
an  addition  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds.  Being  a 
portly  man  the  captain  claimed  more  than  this  for  himself,  and 
immediately  went  to  a  smaller  platform  scale  known  for  its  accu- 
racy. To  his  surprise  the  beam  tipped  to  a  fraction  on  the 
figures  indicated  by  the  840,000-pound  scale.  Of  this  Albany 
scale,  then  the  largest  in  the  world,  one  of  the  New  York  dailies 
remarked:  "It  is  a  structure  of  consummate  skill,  ingenuity  and 
mechanical  truth  ;  continually  in  use,  subjected  to  most  severe 
tests,  doing  its  work  quickly  and  with  scrupulous  nicety,  settling 
by  its  unerring  register  on  the  beam  all  conflicting  questions  of 
weight  and  toll." 

At  the  time  the  scale  industry  was  started  St.  Johnsbury  was 
a  small  town  inconveniently  situated  for  traffic  of  any  sort.  All 
supplies  as  well  as  finished  products  had  to  be  hauled  on  horse 
teams  to  and  from  Portland  or  Boston.  As  the  business  increased 
the  town  began  to  feel  the  pulse  of  new  life.  Property  values  ad- 
vanced, skilled  workmen  came  in;  none  but  sound,  intelligent, 
moral,  temperate  men  were  employed  ;  but  these  were  paid  gen- 
erously and  personal  interest  was  taken  in  them  and  in  their 
families.  A  reading-room  and  library  was  provided  for  them,  and 
evening  lectures  were  given,  sometimes  in  the  new  shops.  An 
academy  was  built  and  supported  entirely  by  the  firm.  Education, 
good  order,  religion  were  cherished  in  every  way.  Liberal  bene- 
factions began  to  go  out  in  all  directions,  and  the  representatives 
of  benevolent  societies  soon  found  the  way  to  this  little  village  up 
in  Vermont.  St.  Johnsbury  finally  became  the  shire  town  of 
Caledonia  county,  railway  junction  and  business  and  educational 
centre  of  Northern  Vermont. 

From  1842  to  1857  the  business  doubled  in  volume  every 
three  years.  It  shared  with  other  industries  the  financial  stress 
of  the  latter  date ;  grew  with  great  rapidity  during  and  after  the 
civil  war,  and  with  steady  advance  till  1893.  Meantime  the  origi- 
nal firm  was  enlarged ;  in  1843  Horace  and  in  1856  Franklin,  both 
sons  of  Erastus,  became  partners.  Horace,  from  the  date  of  the 
incorporation  in  1874  till  his  death  in  1888  was  president,   and  in 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  417 

all  forty-five  years  an  officer  in  the  business.  He  was  also  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank,  director  in  the  Tamarack  Mining 
Company,  and  chief  promotor  and  president  of  the  railroad  to 
Lake  Champlain.  He  was  elected  Governor  of  Vermont  by  a 
decisive  vote  for  the  two  years,  1876-7. 

The  younger  brother,  Franklin,  was  fifty  years  actively  in  the 
business,  at  first  chiefly  in  the  mechanical  departments,  to  which 
he  contributed  some  important  patents  ;  later  with  larger  respon- 
sibilities as  superintendent  and  president  of  the  corporation.  He 
also  filled  important  positions  of  trust  and  honor  elsewhere,  both 
in  business,  political  and  religious  bodies,  till  his  death,  in  1895, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  Another  brother,  Charles,  was 
partner  in  the  New  York  house  for  several  years,  but  after  1858 
he  resided  abroad.  William  P.  Fairbanks,  son  of  Joseph  P.,  was 
partner  for  some  twenty-five  years ;  a  man  of  superior  busi- 
ness capacity  ;  he  represented  this  town  in  the  Legislature  of  1884- 
86 ;  was  first  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  corporation  at  St. 
Johnsbury,  and  later  of  the  branch  house  at  New  York,  where  he 
died  in  1895.  Henry  Fairbanks,  only  son  of  Thaddeus,  is  vice 
president. 

The  founders  and  managers  of  the  scale  business  built  digni- 
fied and  beautiful  homes  on  happily  selected  sites,  adorned  with 
ample  landscape  gardening,  fine  architecture  and  artistic  interiors. 
But  this  is  not  all  that  they  built  in  the  town  of  their  love.  Nearly 
all  the  churches  shared  largely  in  their  beneficence  ;  one  of  them, 
the  finest  architecturally,  in  northern  New  England.  The  Academy 
which  they  had  founded  and  sustained  for  thirty  years  came  to 
need  larger  and  superior  equipment.  Accordingly,  in  1872,  Thad- 
deus Fairbanks,  whose  personal  gifts  to  the  institution  aggregat- 
ed some  $200,000,  erected  new  and  commodious  structures  of 
brick,  with  appointments  and  curriculum  corresponding.  St. 
Johnsbury  Academy  quickly  took  rank  as  the  first  in  the  state, 
and  among  the  best  in  New  England,  having  thirteen  instructors, 
three  hundred  pupils,  and  an  endowment  from  E.  &  T.  Fairbanks 
&  Co.,  of  $100,000.  St.  Johnsbury  Athenaeum,  the  first  free  pub- 
lic library  with  endowment  in  Vermont,  was  built,  equipped  and 
presented  to  the  town  in  1871,  by  Horace  Fairbanks  ;  the  Museum 


418  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

of  Natural  Science  with  its  collections  was  established  and  endow- 
ed by  Franklin  Fairbanks  ;  and  Music  Hall,  mainly  the  gift  of  these 
two  brothers  was  conveyed  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion for  the  public  benefit ;  to  which  was  added  the  Association 
rooms  section  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  block  erected  by  Henry  Fair- 
banks in  1885. 

Altho  the  original  and  all  other  earlier  patents  have  long 
since  expired,  the  St.  Johnsbury  Scale  Works  still  remain  the 
largest  and  most  important  in  the  world.  The  experience  of 
eighty-two  years  has  not  only  established  the  correctness  of  the 
principle  of  multiplied  levers  here  first  applied,  but  has  enabled 
the  manufacturers,  by  new  patents  devised  for  hundreds  of  varie- 
ties of  scales,  to  lead  all  competitors  (400  plus)  in  the  magnitude 
of  the  annual  output,  and  in  the  accuracy,  durability  and  fine  finish 
of  weighing  machines  sent  out  from  this  town;  on  which  "one 
may  today  with  absolute  accuracy  weigh  a  ship  with  its  cargo,  or 
the  lead  which  wears  from  the  pencil  in  writing  one's  name." 

The  Fairbanks  scales  keeping  abreast  of  all  industrial  pro- 
gress, are  now  constructed  for  every  department  of  trade,  manu- 
facture, agriculture,  science,  transportation,  postal  and  govern- 
ment service ;  and  they  have  for  many  years  been  the  standard 
both  in  this  country  and  abroad.  They  are  used  on  nearly  all  the 
railroads,  adopted  in  all  government  departments  and  public 
works  and  in  the  leading  mercantile  and  manufacturing  establish- 
ments of  the  United  States.  The  Postal  Service  requires  a  very 
large  number ;  a  single  order  at  one  time  was  filled  on  short  no- 
tice for  three  thousand  scales  of  range  from  ounces  to  tons. 
Travellers  find  the  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  weighing  machines  used 
in  West  Indies,  South  America,  Mexico,  Canada,  Russia,  Sweden, 
Denmark,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy,  France,  Turkey,  India, 
Siam,  Australia,  Japan,  China.  They  are  announced  as  standard 
in  the  Japanese  Postal  Service,  and  in  the  Chinese  Imperial  Cus- 
toms. "Till  the  arrival  of  the  Fairbanks  scales,"  says  a  resident  in 
North  China,  "fifteen  per  cent  of  my  salary  was  absorbed  in  coal; 
we  are  now  satisfied  with  the  weight." 

Fine  exhibits  have  been  made  of  these  machines,  and  high- 
est awards  rendered  at  ten  international   expositions,  including 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  419 

those  of  London,  Paris,  Vienna,  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  Buffalo, 
and  St.  Louis.  At  the  Centennial,  in  1876,  there  were  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-four  complete  scales,  with  as  many  more  supple- 
mentary articles  ;  at  the  Columbian,  in  1893,  the  exhibit  required 
three  thousand  square  feet  on  the  floor  of  the  Liberal  Arts  Build- 
ing. In  this  collection  was  seen  scale  No.  421,  made  and  sold  in 
1843,  owned  and  used  by  five  successive  parties,  survivor  of  a  fire 
in  1849,  repurchased  by  the  manufacturers  in  1893,  and  in  its  then 
weather-beaten  estate  able  to  lift  its  beam  and  magnify  its  office 
among  stylish  competitors  of  latest  finish,  as  finely  as  fifty  years 
before  in  the  Polk  and  Clay  campaign. 

Besides  furnishing  scales  for  official  use  at  the  Chicago  Ex- 
position, the  Fairbanks  Company  displayed  sixty-three  medals  of 
award,  of  which  eight  were  gold,  thirty-two  silver ;  among  them 
nineteen  from  foreign  countries. 

It  should  be  added  that  after  the  Vienna  Exposition  Mr. 
Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  as  inventor  of  the  scale,  was  knighted  by 
the  Austrian  Emperor,  who,  through  Baron  von  Lichtenfels,  for- 
warded to  him  the  decoration  of  the  Imperial  Order  of  Francis 
Joseph.  He  also  received  from  the  King  of  Siam  the  golden 
medal  and  decoration  of  Puspamala,  and  from  the  Bey  of  Tunis  the 
diploma  and  decoration  of  Nishan  el  Iftikar,  Commander.  Being 
an  excessively  modest  man,  not  fond  of  titles  or  display,  he  had 
no  use  for  things  of  this  sort;  but  his  men  and  towns  folk  would 
not  let  him  elude  the  stroke  of  honor ;  to  the  day  of  his  death  he 
was  known  and  affectionately  venerated  as  Sir  Thaddeus. 

Until  recent  years  the  largest  weighing  machine  in  the  world 
was  the  five-hundred-ton  Fairbanks  weighlock,  erected  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  about  1854.  In  1894,  the  Watervliet  Arsenal  scale  was 
built  at  Troy,  for  weighing  guns  in  the  process  of  manufacture. 
This  had  the  greatest  capacity  for  the  size  of  its  platform  of  any 
scale  ever  made,  viz.,  six  hundred  thousand  pounds  on  a  twelve 
by  fifteen  feet  platform,  i.  e.,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
six  pounds  to  the  square  foot.  It  was  remarked  that  a  paper 
dollar  bill  on  the  end  of  the  scale  beam  when  adjusted,  disturbed 
the  equilibrium. 

The  introduction  of  steel  cars  of  great  capacity  and  weight, 
and  the  requirements  of  the  huge  grain  elevators,   has  created  a 


420  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

demand  for  new  scales  that  shall  not  only  be  equal  to  handling 
the  enormous  tonnage,  but  also  to  do  their  work  with  rapidity  and 
exactness.  This  is  greatly  facilitated  by  the  Fairbanks  type-regis- 
tering beam  now  in  universal  use,  which  records  promptly  and 
with  precision  the  exact  weight  of  whatever  is  passing  over  the 
platform. 

In  1912  fourteen  automatic  grain  scales  were  installed  in  the 
elevators  of  the  Montreal  Harbor  Commissioners.  These  have  a 
capacity  of  five  to  six  thousand  pounds  per  dump  twice  a  minute 
and  will  readily  weigh  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  bushels  of  grain 
an  hour.  The  hoppers  take  five  thousand  pounds  of  thirty-pound 
per-bushel  grain,  and  the  construction  is  such  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  change  the  weights  whether  operating  with  light  oats  or 
heavy  wheat;  a  new  achievement  in  automatic  weighing. 

Six  railroad  track  scales  have  recently  been  built  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  heavy  traffic  in  coal  on  the  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania railroads.  These  machines  are  68  feet  in  length  and  are 
capable  of  sustaining  400  tons  on  a  four-section  platform  57  feet 
long.  They  take  the  weight  while  the  train  moves  across  the 
platform,  each  car  carrying  fifty  tons  of  coal.  These  are  the 
largest  track  scales  in  the  world;  they  are  capable  of  handling  a 
thousand  tons  of  coal  an  hour. 

These  and  similar  scales  manufactured  at  the  St.  Johnsbury 
works,  will  represent  maximum  capacities.  The  minimum  is 
seen  in  the  assayer's  scale  graduated  to  one-tenth  of  a  grain. 
Between  these  extremes  the  code  numbers  cover  two  thousand 
varieties,  but  these  in  actual  manufacture  have  been  further  modi- 
fied to  include,  under  different  standards  and  special  orders,  not 
less  than  ten  thousand  varieties.  Many  of  these  are  for  foreign 
markets,  graduated  variously  to  kilograms,  libras,  poods,  pfunds, 
skalpunds,  okas,  catties,  etc.,  according  to  the  country  they  are 
to  go  to.  Patterns  aggregating  many  thousands  are  stored  in 
the  fire-proof  warehouse,  also  photographs,  prints,  diagrams  of 
all  that  goes  out  from  the  factory. 

The  original  firm  which  began  and  had  continued  for  half  a 
century  in  one  family,  was  in  1874  reorganized  into  a  stock  cor- 
poration, with  a  capital  of  two  and  a  half  million  dollars  in  shares 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  421 

of  $500  each.  The  works  at  St.  Johnsbury  were  during  succeed- 
ing years  enlarged  and  re-equipped ;  later  auxiliary  factories 
were  established  at  Sherbrooke,  P.  Q.,  and  Moline,  111.  Between 
labor  and  capital  at  St.  Johnsbury  84  years  has  brought  no  ripple 
of  disturbance  ;  mutual  good  will  and  friendly  union  have  pre- 
vailed. The  corporation  has  a  record  of  ownership  of  223  patents 
and  trade  marks;  of  these  159  have  been  mechanical  and  design 
inventions  by  the  employees.  Valuable  prizes  have  been  distrib- 
uted to  the  workmen  for  practical  ideas  in  scale  construction. 
In  1907,  this  industry  held  "the  United  States  record  for  long 
service  men  "  a  good  many  having  been  30  and  40  years  in  the 
works,  some  50  and  60  years  ;  Col.  Frank  Walker  was  for  64 
years  in  the  foundry ;  a  large  number  own  valuable  homes  in  the 
village. 

There  are  at  this  writing  1400  men  on  the  pay  roll,  which  dis- 
tributes about  a  million  dollars  annually  to  citizens  of  St.  Johns- 
bury. The  factory  has  40  buildings,  with  20  acres  floor  space ; 
5  tons  of  copper  and  50  tons  of  iron  are  melted  daily  ;  4,000,000 
feet  lumber  are  consumed  a  year.  The  annual  output  of  scales  is 
$6,000,000  list. 

SUPPLEMENTARY 

1843.  History  of  Scale  No.  421.  This  was  a  platform  scale  of  the  sort 
used  in  all  the  country  stores  for  general  merchandise.  It  was  bought  by 
Brackett  and  Bacon,  merchants,  in  Passumpsic  village,  Feb.  17,  1834.  Five 
years  later  the  scale  was  sold  with  the  store  to  The  Farmer's  Association, 
Nath'l  Bishop,  Clerk.  In  1849,  the  establishment,  owned  at  that  time  by 
William  Lawrence,  was  burned  out,  but  the  scale  was  saved.  It  was  owned 
by  William  Russell  of  this  town  in  1862,  and  in  1893  was  purchased  by  the 
Fairbanks  Corporation  and  sent  to  do  duty  as  a  patriarch  in  the  scales  ex- 
hibit of  the  Columbian  Exposition. 

1858  During  the  financial  stringency  of  this  year,  the  men  in  the  scale 
works  presented  a  paper  at  the  counting  room  one  day  in  October,  express- 
ing gratitude  for  favors  received  and  proposing  a  suspension  of  the  monthly 
payment  of  wages  till  such  time  as  would  suit  the  Company's  convenience. 
The  proposition,  wholly  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  men,  and  signed  by 
nearly  every  one,  was  accepted  with  warm  appreciation.  Early  in  February 
following  all  balances  due  were  paid,  and  monthly  payments  resumed. 
Weekly  payments  were  adopted  in  1901. 


422  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

1865  The  unearthly  drone  that  issues  from  Fairbanks  Village,  morn- 
ing, noon  and  night  since  July,  is  the  steam  gong  ;  it  is  tremendous.  This 
gong  takes  the  place  of  the  old  factory  bell. 

1871  The  new  gong  at  the  Scale  Works  makes  a  more  unearthly  noise 
than  the  old  one  did,  if  that  is  possible. 

1869  At  the  time  of  the  great  flood,  800  scales  a  week  were  being 
shipped,  and  unfilled  orders  accumulating.  A  sixty-foot  track  scale  for  the 
Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  was  carried  off  by  the  waters,  resulting  in  total  loss. 
A  new  one  was  built  and  shipped  within  ten  days.  In  1875,  there  were  man- 
ufactured in  one  week  175  hay  scales,  an  average  of  one  each  twenty  minutes 
of  working  hours ;  that  week  13  carloads  of  scales  were  shipped,  aggregat- 
ing 143  tons  weight  of  scales.     This  was  in  October. 

1874  Revival  of  business.  Some  men  took  a  terrier  into  the  old  grist 
mill  building  at  the  Fairbanks  works  the  other  day.  They  came  out  with 
110  rats.  The  scale  registered  thirty-four  pounds  of  rat.  This  disproves  the 
recent  assertion  of  the  Springfield  Republican  that  business  is  dull  at  the  St. 
Johnsbury  Scale  Factory. 

1874  Congress,  in  December,  made  a  special  appropriation  for  3000 
new  style  Post  Office  Scales,  ranging  from  four  pounds  to  a  ton  capacity,  to 
be  delivered  within  two  weeks.  This  was  a  difficult  proposition ;  seven 
parties  bid  for  the  contract.  It  was  awarded  to  the  Fairbanks  Company, 
and  the  bulk  of  the  order  was  shipped  from  St.  Johnsbury  by  mail,  in  time 
to  reach  the  Post  Offices  of  the  country  before  the  first  of  January,  1875. 

1879  On  March  26th  a  number  twelve  platform  scale  built  for  the  Mar- 
quis of  Lome,  Governor  General  of  Canada,  was  despatched  to  Ottawa. 
This  scale  has  a  nickel  plate  beam  and  is  decorated  with  the  Coat  of  Arms 
of  both  Canada  and  United  States. 

1882  There  were  55,000  scales  manufactured  in  1880,  and  58,000  in  1881. 
In  the  year  1882  the  number  rose  to  80,000,  at  a  valuation  of  $3,000,000.  Of 
these,  9450  were  large  track  scales,  and  1000  were  hay  scales.  Twenty  car 
loads  a  week  were  sent  out  during  the  month  of  December. 

1886  At  the  Industrial  Exposition  of  Austria-Hungary  held  in  Czerno- 
witz,  the  State  Prize  was  awarded  to  the  Fairbanks  Scales  against  four  com- 
petitors. On  them  were  weighed  H.  R.  H.  the  Archduke  Karl  Ludwig, 
Archduke  Rainer,  the  Duke  of  Wartenberg  and  others.  Considerable  toll 
came  in  from  these  notables,  which  was  delivered  in  a  sealed  box  to  M. 
Block  for  the  Red  Cross  Society. 

1888  About  130  men  drive  daily  to  the  scale  works  from  three  to  eight 
miles,  and  from  five  different  towns.  Fifteen  come  from  the  Center,  six 
from  Danville ;   one  has  driven  from  the  East  Village   for  twenty  years,  one 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  423 

from  the  Center  twenty-two  years,  one  from  Four  Corners  nineteen  years. 
Most  of  these  men  rise  at  half  past  four  in  the  morning,  and  drive  2000 
miles  a  year  in  all  weathers. 

1893  On  the  ninth  day  of  February  a  young  man  was  seen  taking  his 
weight  on  a  Fairbanks  Scale  in  Vacaville,  California.  Someone  heard  him 
say  that  he  was  brought  up  within  four  miles  of  the  factory  where  that 
scale  was  made.  The  next  day  he  died.  In  appearance  he  was  quiet  and 
pleasing,  but  nothing  was  found  to  indicate  his  name  or  address.  His  re- 
mark about  the  scale  factory  was  the  only  clue.  A  dispatch  was  sent  to  the 
Fairbanks  office,  and  after  some  days  he  was  identified  as  Robert  E.  Slater. 
Meantime — "by  strangers  honored  and  by  strangers  mourned" — the  burial 
service  had  been  rendered  him  by  a  man  who  was  brought  up  within  one 
mile  of  the  same  scale  factory — Rev.  Henry  Erastus  Jewett,  grandson  of 
Gov.  Erastus  Fairbanks  and  of  Dr.  Luther  Jewett. 

1901  At  West  Superior,  Wisconsin,  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Com- 
pany erected  the  largest  elevator  in  the  world,  entirely  of  steel,  with  capacity 
of  three  million  bushels  of  grain.  A  Pennsylvania  Company,  underbidding 
all  others,  was  given  the  contract  for  eighteen  hopper  scales,  which  were  in- 
stalled early  in  1901.  On  being  tested  by  the  state  inspector  they  were  con- 
demned and  ordered  out.  The  Mechanical  Superintendent  of  the  road 
came  promptly  to  St.  Johnsbury  and  placed  an  order  for  eighteen  Fairbanks 
hopper  scales  at  the  price  of  the  original  bid.  Plans  were  drafted,  patterns 
made,  foundry  and  machine  work  pushed,  and  within  a  week  the  first  scale 
was  ready  to  be  shipped  by  express.  The  earliest  train  out  was  the  air-line 
north  which  carries  no  express  beyond  Newport.  By  telephoning  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  office  in  Montreal,  permission  was  obtained  to  forward  the 
scale  thro  by  express  and  to  hold  the  train  at  St.  Johnsbury  ten  minutes  for 
the  purpose  of  loading  it.  The  scale,  which  weighed  4331  pounds,  was 
handled  by  fourteen  men  who  in  three  minutes  time  had  it  on  the  express 
car.  The  expressage  on  this  scale  was  $600.  The  other  seventeen  followed 
in  due  time.  After  installation  the  inspector  subjected  them  under  standard 
test  weights  to  the  severest  tests  ever  given,  to  which  they  responded 
with  entire  ease  and  accuracy  up  to  their  full  capacity  of  120,000  pounds 
each. 

During  the  month  of  July  following,  a  Fairbanks  track  scale  at  Duluth, 
in  the  thirteenth  year  of  constant  use,  weighed  accurately  a  million  tons  of 
ore ;  a  performance  probably  never  before  equalled. 

At  Great  Falls,  Minn.,  a  forty  foot  track  scale  of  100  tons  capacity,  in 
constant  use  eight  years  without  repairs  or  refittings,  recorded  5,467,664,999 
lbs.  as  the  aggregate  of  its  operations. 

1902  Grocer  scale  number  536,  bought  by  a  merchant  in  Rushville,  111., 
has  stood  for  fifty  years  on  the  same  spot  upon  the  nail  counter,  where  hun- 


424  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

dreds  of  thousands  of  nails  have  been  thrown  upon  it.  No  repairs  have 
been  needed,  neither  file  nor  oil  have  been  applied  to  it ;  a  shingle  nail  or 
even  a  bit  of  paper  lifts  the  beam  as  promptly  as  it  did  half  a  century  ago. 

1903  The  weekly  payment  system  which  went  into  effect  in  October 
was  a  very  agreeable  surprise  to  the  men  at  the  scale  works  ;  the  more  so  in- 
asmuch as  it  came  unexpectedly  only  six  months  after  the  shortening  of  the 
working-day  last  April. 

1904  At  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  was  an  ornate  scale  of  polished  oak, 
onyx  platform,  and  registering  device  that  stamped  the  weights  at  the  rate 
of  3000  per  day.  Printed  tickets  of  weight  were  issued  to  about  225,000  per- 
sons who  stood  upon  it  ;  the  heaviest  man  was  390  pounds,  the  lightest  was 
nine  pounds.  Some  15,000  people  chose  to  test  their  weight  on  the  seventy 
year  old  scale,  less  ornamental  but  equally  accurate ;  with  this  was  dis- 
played the  original  application  for  a  patent,  written  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks 
in  1831. 

1906  Russian  cannon  converted  into  scales.  Since  the  war  in  the  east, 
C.  H.  Horton  has  purchased  two  car  loads  of  gun  metal,  rapid  firing  guns, 
cannon  and  gun  furnishings,  recovered  from  Russian  battleships  sunk  in 
Port  Arthur  harbor  and  the  Corean  Straits.  Russia  is  the  largest  foreign 
purchaser  of  the  Fairbanks  scales  ;  at  one  time  before  this  war  400  cases  of 
scales  were  shipped  to  Moscow  and  50  cases  to  St.  Petersburg.  It  is  fair  to 
assume  that  some  of  this  gun  metal  will  find  its  way  back  into  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Czar  in  the  more  peaceful  product  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  manufactory. 

NEW   EQUIPMENT 

The  demand  for  weighing  machines  of  great  capacity  and  ac- 
curacy caused  by  the  increasing  tonnage  of  the  railroads  and  by 
the  requirements  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  have 
necessitated  within  recent  years  important  changes  in  the  manu- 
facturing plant. 

The  old  shops  have  been  almost  entirely  reconstructed,  new 
and  larger  buildings  erected,  heavier  machinery  installed,  the  en- 
tire equipment  modernized  and  perfected.  Iron  loop  work  that 
formerly  required  a  day's  work  of  two  men  is  now  done  by  a  ma- 
chine in  sixty  minutes  ;  boxes  are  neatly  nailed  by  a  single  drop 
of  an  iron  lever.  Automatic  hopper  scales  are  set  up  and  operat- 
ed as  in  the  great  elevators  ;  an  erecting  plant  served  by  an 
overhead  electric  crane  is  used  for  the  assembling  and  erection  of 
the  heavier  scales.  Among  the  new  types  of  machines  now 
being  constructed  are  the  dial  scales  which  are  designed  for 
weighing  baggage  and  freight  on  the  railroads. 


THE  PLATFORM  SCALE  425 


SCALE 


Two  cities,  yea  seven,  claimed  the  name  of  Homer  as  a  son 
born  in  their  midst.  Two  languages  might  claim  the  word  scale 
as  born  in  their  vocabulary. 

The  even  balance  in  which  Abraham  weighed  his  silver  in 
the  trade  with  Ephron  the  Hittite  was  still  in  use  in  its  primitive 
form  among  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors,  called  by  them  the  bal- 
ances or  scales — "every  one  hath  his  scholes  with  him  to  market  to 
weigh  his  silver  withal."  The  shallow  pans  suspended  at  either 
arm  of  the  balance,  from  their  resemblance  to  a  clam  shell,  scyll, 
scele,  came  to  be  called  sceale,  hence  in  Early  English — scales,  or  a 
pair  of  scales.  This  is  the  clam-shell  origin  of  the  word  scale 
or  "a  pair  of  scales,"  as  sometimes  called  for  even  now  at  the 
Fairbanks  works. 

The  Romans  modified  the  old  balance  of  equal  arms  having 
its  fulcrum  in  the  center,  by  lengthening  one  arm  and  fitting  to  it 
a  sliding  poise.  This  constituted  the  steelyard  type.  The  long 
beam  was  graduated  by  means  of  notches  to  indicate  the  number 
of  ounces.  These  notches,  scalae,  gave  to  this  instrument  the 
identical  name  scale  derived  in  England  from  the  Anglo  Saxon 
clam-shells. 

The  scale  of  today  is  thus  doubly  certified  as  of  historic 
origin  and  name,  as  well  as  of  a  two-fold  type  of  construction — 
multiplied  now  into  thousands  of  varieties  in  the  leading  scale 
manufactory  of  the  world  at  St.  Johnsbury. 


XXXII 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE 

"A  public  servant — the  choice  indeed  of  a  party,  but  himself  above  any 
party— seeing  clearly  what  justice  and  humanity,  the  law  and  the  public 
welfare  require  him  to  do,  and  doing  it ;  trusting  the  heart,  the  intelligence, 
the  conscience  of  his  countrymen,  thus  leading  them  up  to  more  perfect 
justice,  union,  prosperity  and  peace."  Geo.  IV.  Curtis 

Governors — secretaries— justices — senators — educators — 
generals — lieut.  governors — federal  judges. 

It  is  noticeable  that  for  a  period  of  sixty  years  till  about  1850 
nearly  all  the  men  of  Caledonia  who  occupied  positions  of  state 
were  from  our  neighboring  towns.  During  the  next  sixty  years 
St.  Johnsbury  made  some  contributions  to  the  wider  public  ser- 
vice, respecting  which  mention  is  made  in  the  groups  of  two  and 
two  that  follow. 

TWO   GOVERNORS 

Erastus  Fairbanks — was  made  Governor  of  Vermont  in 
1852.  This  responsiblity  came  to  him  apart  from  his  own  seek- 
ing ;  the  people  chose  him  as  a  man  in  whom  they  trusted.  As 
early  as  1836  while  a  member  of  the  legislature  he  had  left  his 
mark  as  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  ability.  One  of  his  col- 
leagues remarked — "no  man  of  my  acquaintance  in  Vermont 
commanded  more  unqualified  respect  than  he ;  having  practical 
good  sense,  ready  discrimination  and  great  quickness  of  percep- 
tion, he  was  a  safe  and  judicious  counselor,  and  acquired  and  re- 
tained in  an  unusual  degree  the  confidence  of  all  parties."  It 
remains  on  record  that  his  administration  as  Governor  was  firm 
and  judicious  and  eminently  healthful  in  tone.     Matters  relating 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE 


427 


to  popular  education  and  social  order  engaged  his  special  atten- 
tion. His  Thanksgiving  proclamation  attracted  the  attention  of 
a  well  known  Massachusetts  divine  who  read  it  to  his  congrega- 
tion as  more  appropriate  than  the  one  issued  in  his  own  state. 

A  notable  event  in  the  legislature  of  1852  was  the  enactment 
of  the  prohibitory  liquor  law  which  was  destined  to  give  Ver- 
mont, as  well  as  Maine,  distinction  for  the  next  fifty  years.  To 
this  the  Governor  affixed  his  signature  with  peculiar  satisfaction, 
believing  it  to  be  a  salutary  act  and  for  the  public  good.  It 
operated  against  his  re-election ;  the  combined  liquor  interests  of 
the  state  opposed  it  and  many  others  questioned  its  expediency. 
The  next  year  there  was  no  choice  of  governor  by  the  people ;  of 
23,708  votes  necessary  for  a  choice  Erastus  Fairbanks,  whig,  had 
20,849  and  John  S.  Robinson,  democrat,  had  18,142.  This  threw 
the  election  into  the  legislature,  where  on  the  26th  ballot  of  the 
joint  assembly  Robinson  received  a  majority  of  one  vote.  After 
the  lapse  of  sixty  years  it  is  interesting  to  look  back  thro  the 
vista  of  intervening  events  and  observe  the  oscillation  of  the 
figures  in  that  balloting  of  the  joint  assembly  : — 


no 

102 
102 
106 
101 


R 

97 
99 

101 
99 

101 


F 

103 
102 
103 
104 
103 


R 

100 
100 
100 
101 

104 


F 

104 
105 
103 
104 

105 


R 

103 
102 
104 
100 
103 


F 
103 
102 
104 
103 
100 


R 

99 
117 
119 

118 

118 


Twenty-sixth  ballot 


F 

103 
104 
105 
104 
105 
104 


R 

118 
116 
117 
119 
117 
120 


Similar  defeat  in  the  general  election  overtook  most  of 
those  who  had  supported  the  prohibitory  measure  the  year  pre- 
ceding ;  the  act  itself  however  was  not  repealed.  On  his  return 
from  Montpelier,  a  private  citizen,  Erastus  Fairbanks  was  greeted 
by  a  salute  of  31  guns  :  "the  powder  used  was  procured,  and  the 
gun  itself  was  worked,  altogether  by  men  who  were  opposed  to 
him  in  politics."  The  town  had  given  him  427  votes  as  against 
152  for  Robinson. 

In  1860  he  was  again  nominated  at  the  convention  held  in 
Rutland  and  on  election  day  received  34,185  votes,  there  being 
11,793  for  John  G.  Saxe  the  democratic  nominee.  This  town 
registered  456  votes  for  him,  73  for  Saxe. 


428  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

No  one  could  have  guessed  what  exacting  responsibilities 
were  soon  to  fall  upon  the  Executive.  To  meet  the  situation 
precipitated  by  the  assault  on  Fort  Sumter  required  at  the  head 
of  the  state  as  well  as  of  the  nation  a  man  of  decision,  sagacity 
and  force.  The  Governor  promptly  met  the  emergency  with 
resoluteness  and  high  patriotic  spirit.  The  fact  that  war  would 
entail  great  loss  of  property  held  by  the  scale  firm  in  the  South- 
ern states  had  not  a  moment's  consideration,  the  honor  of  the 
flag  must  be  defended  at  whatever  cost.  On  the  same  day  that 
President  Lincoln  called  for  troops  the  Legislature  was  summon- 
ed to  Montpelier  by  a  proclamation,  a  copy  of  which  is  given  on 
page  274,  and  the  business  of  war  was  taken  hold  of  with  deep 
and  solemn  determination. 

"It  was  in  his  new  position  as  Commander  in  Chief,"  says  one  who 
shared  with  him  the  burdens  of  that  stressful  time,  "that  I  again  found  the 
Governor  master  of  the  work  he  had  to  do.  The  responsibility  was  his  ; 
with  a  prayerful  desire  to  be  guided  aright,  his  foresight  and  energy  at  once 
appeared  when  raising  the  first  regiment  sent  out  from  Vermont. 

The  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  which  met  eight  days  after  the 
firing  upon  Fort  Sumter,  had  the  good  sense  to  place  at  his  entire  disposal 
a  million  of  dollars,  putting  no  check  upon  the  use  of  it,  only  as  his  judg- 
ment might  deem  prudent  and  best.  Our  people,  unused  to  large  public 
expenditure,  it  is  true,  kept  a  jealous  eye  upon  all  his  acts,  but  never,  to 
their  praise,  with  a  thought  of  any  dereliction  of  duty  or  misuse  of  power 
on  the  part  of  the  Executive. 

Their  confidence  was  justified,  and  looking  back  on  the  expenditures  of 
his  successors  during  the  years  in  which  we  were  engaged  in  war,  none  will 
bear  closer  scrutiny.  To  those  acquainted  with  his  good  judgment,  strict 
integrity,  his  high  sense  of  impartial  right,  his  systematic  business  habits 
and  comprehensive  mind,  early  and  continuously  trained  to  grasp  business 
matters  on  a  large  scale,  the  result  is  no  surprise." 

On  retiring  from  his  official  duties  at  the  end  of  the  year 
the  Governor  requested  the  appointment  of  a  special  com- 
mittee to  examine  and  audit  his  accounts.  This  action  was  taken 
and  the  Legislature  in  view  of  the  report  rendered  adopted  the 
following : — 

"Whereas,  in  consequence  of  the  war  in  which  the  country  has  been  en- 
gaged—new, arduous,  and  peculiar  duties  have  devolved  upon  the  Executive, 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  429 

involving  great  responsibilities  and  calling  forth  great  administrative  ability, 
therefore 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of 
Vermont — 

That  the  thanks  of  the  two  Houses  be  presented  to  Erastus  Fairbanks, 
late  Governor,  for  his  most  laborious,  efficient,  and  praise-worthy  efforts  to 
raise,  equip  and  uniform  the  six  regiments  of  volunteers  that  have  been  sent 
forward  from  this  state  to  the  seat  of  war. 

Resolved,  That  we,  as  representatives  of  the  people,  do  appreciate  the 
difficulties  which  beset  the  course  of  the  Executive  in  the  trying  emer- 
gencies incidental  to  the  inauguration  of  a  militia  system  and  a  war  policy 
among  a  people  pre-eminently  peaceful — and  we  feel  doubly  gratified  for 
the  judgment  which  decided  without  wavering  the  path  of  duty,  and  the 
courage  which  pursued  it  to  success." 


It  was  not  courage  chiefly,  but  a  profound  sense  of  provi- 
dential guidance  that  animated  Erastus  Fairbanks.  He  believed 
that  God  had  appointed  him  to  a  solemn  responsibility  ;  inspired 
with  this  conviction  he  dedicated  his  energies  under  God  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  state.  The  salary  to  which  he  was  entitled  was  not 
touched,  it  still  remains  in  the  State  Treasury.  The  exactions  of  the 
public  service  at  that  critical,  strenuous  time  were  a  heavy  strain 
upon  his  vitality.  Three  years  later  he  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years. 

Horace  Fairbanks— son  of  Erastus,  was  elected  Governor 
in  1876  for  the  biennial  term.  While  riding  across  the  state  on 
business  relating  to  the  Lake  road  and  to  the  University  of  Ver- 
mont, a  telegram  from  Montpelier  was  handed  him  which  said  : — 
"You  are  to  be  Governor  of  Vermont  in  spite  of  yourself."  The 
phrasing  of  this  message  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Fair- 
banks had  distinctly  declined  to  be  a  candidate,  and  had  refused 
to  allow  the  use  of  his  name  as  such.  Notwithstanding  this, 
when  the  nominating  convention  at  Montpelier  found  itself  un- 
able by  ballot  to  agree  upon  either  one  of  the  three  candidates 
before  it — the  name  of  Horace  Fairbanks  was  introduced  and  the 
nomination  was  at  once  accorded  him  by  acclamation  without  a 
dissenting  voice.  Impressed  by  the  spontaneity  and  stress  of 
such  a  call  to  the  public  service,  he  could  not  conscientiously  re- 


430  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

treat  from  it,  and  in  replying  to  it  he  said  :  "The  unanimity  of 
the  convention  supplemented  by  the  solicitations  of  many  friends 
has  overborne  my  own  judgment  and  wishes  and  leads  me  to  ac- 
cept the  nomination." 

The  election,  like  the  nomination,  was  decisive.  Being  both 
centennial  and  presidential  year,  every  effort  was  made  to  reduce 
the  republican  vote  ;  but  the  Governor  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  23,721.  The  sentiment  of  this  town  was  recorded  in  the  826 
votes  given  him,  which  was  more  than  the  total  vote  of  any  pre- 
vious election  in  the  history  of  the  town.  Citizens  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  and  neighboring  towns  to  the  number  of  3000  took  uninvited 
possession  of  the  Pinehurst  grounds  on  the  evening  thereafter, 
for  congratulatory  jubilations,  with  swarms  of  torch-lights  and 
patriotic  noise  from  the  cornet  band  and  the  guns  on  Reservoir 
Hill.  Rev.  D.  E.  Miller  was  spokesman  for  the  party,  and  in  the 
concluding  words  of  the  reply  every  one  recognized  the  note  of 
sincerity — "I  assume  the  position  devolved  on  me  with  the  great- 
est diffidence  and  I  ask  your  forbearance,  your  counsel  and  your 
prayers." 

This  natural  diffidence  added  to  his  lack  of  legislative  ex- 
perience led  some  to  query  how  far  he  would  prove  equal  to  the 
new  official  duties.  "His  father,  the  first  war  governor  of  Ver- 
mont, served  in  eventful  times  and  left  a  brilliant  record — would 
the  son  maintain  the  prestige  gained  by  the  father?"  Gratifying 
assurance  as  to  this  began  to  appear  in  his  inaugural,  which  as  re- 
ported, attracted  wide  attention  both  in  the  state  and  abroad  for 
its  plain  and  vigorous  handling  of  matters  needing  reformed  and 
advanced  methods,  notably  the  management  of  prisons  and  jails. 
He  urged  the  state  to  encourage  arbitration  in  place  of  the  too 
frequent  resort  to  jury  trial ;  advocated  reform  in  matters  of  tax- 
ation; gave  special  attention  to  educational  methods,  recommend- 
ing uniformity  of  text  books,  consolidation  of  the  smaller  schools 
and  the  employment  of  a  higher  grade  of  teachers.  The  prison 
system  of  the  state  was  sharply  arraigned,  declared  to  be  a 
failure,  radically  wrong  in  principle,  requiring  immediate  and  en- 
tire revision.  "in  short,  the  state  should  put  forth  its  most 
active  and  earnest  endeavors  to  reclaim  the  convict  from  a  life  of 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  431 

crime  to  a  life  of  virtue,  and  the  State  Prison  should  no  longer 
be  an  institution  for  the  reformation  as  well  as  the  punishment  of 
offenders  with  the  reformation  all  left  out." 

This  message  was  received  with  universal  commendation 
throughout  the  state,  approved  as  clear  in  expression,  broad  and 
statesmanlike  in  its  views.  The  Springfield  Republican  remarked 
editorially — "Gov.  Fairbanks'  message  is  unexpectedly  remark- 
able for  its  sharp  and  intelligent  criticism  of  state  administra- 
tion." The  conclusion  of  one  of  the  New  York  dailies  was  that 
"in  selecting  him  for  her  chief  magistrate,  Vermont  chose  better 
than  she  knew,  and  her  renowned  scale  maker  will  prove  a  model 
governor." 

This  prediction  was  not  wide  of  the  mark.  Many  of  the 
Governor's  urgent  recommendations  were  promptly  and  favorably 
acted  on  by  the  General  Assembly,  and  all  of  them  have  since 
that  date  been  incorporated  into  the  legislative  acts  of  the  State. 
The  popular  judgment  at  the  end  of  the  biennial  term — aside  from 
some  dissent  over  a  case  of  executive  reprieve — was,  that  the  ad- 
ministration had  been  wise,  progressive,  judicious  and  practical. 
"The  ability  and  scope  of  his  state  papers,  the  desire  to  be  iden- 
tified with  the  people,  his  efforts  to  inaugurate  reforms  and  im- 
provements, have  served  to  make  Horace  Fairbanks  one  of  the 
most  popular  executives  the  State  has  had  in  many  years." 

It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that  he  brought  to  the  public 
service  a  personality  of  singular  attractiveness.  There  was  the  in- 
variable touch  of  refinement  and  a  spirit  of  quiet  but  large  generosity 
in  all  his  contact  with  life.  The  firmness  with  which  he  held  his 
matured  convictions  was  graced  with  sincere  courtesy  and  con- 
sideration for  the  opinions  of  others.  He  retired  from  the  official 
duties  to  which  he  had  been  called  assured  of  the  high  regard  and 
good  will  of  all ;  ten  years  later,  1888,  he  died  in  New  York 
City. 

TWO   SECRETARIES 

Worthy  of  mention  as  related  to  the  preceeding  paragraphs 
are  the  names  of  two  men  who  won  appreciative  recognition  as 
Secretaries  of  Civil  and  Military  Affairs. 


432  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

George  A.  Merrill — was  Superintendent  of  the  Passumpsic 
Railroad  when  called  to  official  duties  by  Gov.  Erastus  Fairbanks 
during  his  second  term  in  1852.  His  remarkable  aptitude  and 
versatility  in  affairs  made  him  an  invaluable  assistant  in  organiz- 
ing the  military  system  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  Few 
men,  if  any,  ever  lived  in  this  town  whose  gifts  of  adaptation 
were  so  marked  and  varied.  His  lithe  and  elastic  figure  seemed 
formed  to  fit  every  situation  with  easy,  prompt  and  graceful 
action — whether  mounted  as  chief-marshal  born  to  command,  or 
moving  in  the  social  circle  with  vivacity  and  courtliness,  or  fluent- 
ly'addressing  an  audience  on  any  theme  whatever,  or  doing  ex- 
pert, quick  and  accurate  work  at  the  desk,  or  dashing  off  spicy 
communications  for  the  press,  or  rendering  practical  service  in  the 
church  and  neighborhood.  One  visible  mark  of  his  originality  is 
still  an  architectural  feature  of  Eastern  Avenue — the  brick  octa- 
gon a  novelty  in  its  day,  which  he  planted  on  the  knoll  for  his 
residence. 

Andrew  E.  Rankin— Secretary  to  Gov.  Horace  Fairbanks, 
was  a  man  of  fine  accomplishments.  To  his  ability  as  an  educa- 
tor the  town  was  indebted  for  the  successful  inauguration  of  our 
Union  School  system  in  1858.  He  acquired  high  standing  in 
business  and  at  the  bar ;  for  the  twenty-four  years  preceding  his 
death  in  1888,  he  was  Clerk  of  the  Caledonia  County  Court.  His 
appointment  by  the  Governor  was  universally  commended,  and  in 
this  position  his  cultivated  tastes  were  peculiarly  agreeable  to  his 
chief.  Mr.  Rankin  was  a  finished  scholar  and  always  deeply  in- 
terested in  educational  matters.  He  was  for  some  years  Secre- 
tary of  the  State  Board  of  Education,  and  in  1883  was  appointed 
delegate  from  Vermont  to  the  Interstate  Educational  Convention 
in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  President  Grant  tendered  him  the  posi- 
tion of  American  Consul  to  Messina,  Sicily,  which  however  he  de- 
clined.    Mrs.  Rankin  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Poland. 

To  the  Athenaeum,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  original 
Trustees,  Mr.  Rankin  gave  important  services  for  seventeen 
years.  Among  other  things  of  practical  interest  was  the  series  of 
Athenaeum  Questions,  140  in  number,  which  he  put  out  in  1885, 
relating  to  history,  art  and  literature.     These  were   designed   to 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  433 

stimulate  the  habit  of  library  research  ;  they  awakened  keen  in- 
terest and  active  work  among  the  books  for  several  months,  and 
the  publication  of  the  answers  opened  a  mine  of  literary  informa- 
tion. 

Mr.  Rankin's  early  death  was  deeply  lamented;  it  was  "like 
the  falling  of  a  strong  and  beautifully  carved  pillar  in  the  portico 
of  a  temple  ;"  he  was  a  man  of  serious  mind  and  ripe  culture, 
quiet  and  courteous,  sensitive,  "always  a  gentleman  and  a 
gentleman  to  all  men." 

TWO   CHIEF   JUSTICES  TWO   SENATORS 

Luke  P.  Poland — born  in  Westfield,  1815,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  at  the  age  of  21,  took  his  seat  on  the  supreme  bench 
at  the  age  of  33,  to  which  position  he  was  returned  by  the 
viva-voce  vote  of  seventeen  successive  elections  in  the  General 
Assembly.  From  1860  he  was  Chief  Justice  till  his  appointment 
in  1865  as  United  States  Senator  succeeding  Judge  Collamer. 

The  Judge  used  to  say  that  he  was  educated  in  a  saw-mill  ; 
after  three  years'  course  in  that  institution  he  exchanged  boards 
enough  to  secure  five  months  at  Jericho  Academy  which  complet- 
ed his  academic  curriculum ;  thereafter  his  education  was 
advanced  thro  a  perpetual  course  in  the  university  of  men  and 
affairs.  He  was  nearly  forty  years  a  resident  of  St.  Johnsbury, 
one  of  the  most  prominent  and  distinguished  citizens  of  the  town. 
His  death  in  1887  brought  out  generous  acknowledgements  of  his 
public  service,  excerpts  from  which  are  here  given : — 

"Judge  Poland  was  one  of  the  most  marked  characters  that  Vermont 
ever  produced.  In  every  position  whether  as  citizen,  lawyer,  judge,  legisla- 
tor, congressman  or  senator,  he  earned  and  preserved  an  honorable  reputa- 
tion and  displayed  conspicuous  ability  always  reflecting  honor  upon  his 
native  State." 

"He  was  one  of  Vermont's  most  distinguished  sons,  whose  career  was 
one  of  large  and  varied  trusts  fulfilled  with  great  ability,  industry  and 
fidelity.  As  a  lawyer,  jurist,  state  and  national  legislator,  financier,  and 
friend  of  education  Judge  Poland  was  truly  and  justly  eminent." 

"During  the  ten  years  of  his  Congressional  life  no  other  member  of 
either  house  of  Congress  was  so  intimately  identified  with  so  many  import- 


434  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ant  measures.  His  eminent  intellectual  ability  and  particularly  his  innate 
love  of  justice,  developed  and  strengthened  by  long  judicial  service,  en- 
abled him  to  rise  above  all  partisan  considerations  and  to  decide  each  ques- 
tion entirely  on  its  merits." 

With  these  qualifications  he  was  well  fitted  for  the  delicate 
task  of  investigating  the  Credit  Mobilier  transactions,  which  was 
committed  to  his  leadership  ;  the  unanimous  report  of  the  com- 
mittee was  sustained,  tho  it  involved  the  retirement  of  some 
prominent  men  of  his  own  party  from  public  life.  He  also  led 
the  Congressional  investigation  of  the  doings  of  the  Ku-Klux- 
Klan,  the  findings  of  which  filled  13  large  printed  volumes  and 
resulted  in  ridding  the  country  of  that  infamous  band.  Judge 
Poland's  most  important  achievement  while  in  Congress  was  the 
revision  and  consolidation  of  the  Laws  of  the  United  States,  done 
in  pursuance  of  an  act  introduced  by  him  in  the  Senate  of  the 
39th  Congress.  The  magnitude  and  character  of  that  undertak- 
ing is  well  stated  in  an  address  given  at  Philadelphia  in  1875  by 
Hon.  Loren  Blodgett. 

CODIFICATION   OF   THE    STATUTES 

"Having  originated  the  whole  work  while  a  member  of  the  Senate  in 
1866  and  followed  it  as  chief  director  in  all  subsequent  proceedings  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress  for  seven  years,  Judge  Poland  consummated  what  all 
regarded  as  a  great  work  which  no  other  member  of  either  branch  could 
claim.  No  test  so  severe,  both  as  to  familiarity  with  the  ordinary  construc- 
tion of  the  statutes,  and  as  to  legal  discrimination  in  regard  to  the  intrinsic 
incompatibility  of  acts  which  had  successively  overlapped  each  other  for 
nearly  a  century,  has  at  any  time  been  applied  to  a  committee  in  Congress 
during  an  active  session.  Indeed  under  no  circumstances  and  at  no  time 
has  a  like  effort  been  made.  The  energy  and  determination  of  the  dis- 
tinguished chairman  were  always  conspicuous,  and  the  work  was  accepted 
by  Congress  in  June  1874,  without  amendments.  In  reviewing  this  revision 
or  codification  it  is  impossible  not  to  accord  it  a  rank  quite  distinct  from,  if 
not  higher  than,  any  previous  work  of  the  kind  known  to  history." 

Judge  Poland's  public  service  at  Washington  included  two 
years  in  the  Senate  and  eight  in  the  House.  He  was  a  man  of 
mark  on  the  floor  of  either  house,  both  by  reason  of  his  intel- 
lectual stature,  his  weighty  speech  and  his  dignified  port  to  which 
the  buff  waistcoat  and  brass  buttoned  coat  of  colonial  times  added 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  435 

a  touch  of  agreeable  distinction.  He  was  framed  and  equipped 
for  a  public  career,  which  in  point  of  fact  he  both  enjoyed  and 
adorned. 

Jonathan  Ross — left  the  ancestral  farm  in  Waterford  and 
came  over  to  enter  St.  Johnsbury  Academy  in  1844.  Notwith- 
standing the  opinion  expressed  that  "  'twas  a  pity  to  spoil  a  good 
farmer  for  to  make  a  poor  lawyer,"  he  continued  his  course  thro 
Dartmouth  College  and  subsequent  legal  studies  till  in  1856  he 
was  back  in  St.  Johnsbury  beginning  his  career  as  a  lawyer,  poor 
in  nothing  but  purse.  His  lack  of  native  brilliancy  was  more 
than  made  up  by  a  robust  honesty  of  the  Abram  Lincoln  type,  by 
sincerity  of  Christian  principle  and  diligent  attention  to  details 
which  very  soon  commanded  public  confidence  and  patronage. 
Important  trusts  were  committed  to  him  in  the  town  and  in  the 
State.  He  ranked  high  at  Montpelier  both  as  representative  and 
senator.  In  1870  he  was  on  the  Supreme  bench  ;  in  1890  he  was 
made  Chief  Justice ;  in  1899  he  was  appointed  for  the  unexpired 
term  to  succeed  Justin  S.  Morrill  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

It  will  be  noted  as  a  coincidence  that  these  successive  ad- 
vancements duplicated  the  course  of  his  fellow  townsman  Judge 
Poland.  Not  often  does  the  same  town  have  two  men  so  unlike 
in  native  endowment,  style  and  personality  who  win  high  honor 
in  public  careers  so  nearly  identical.  The  two  are  not  to  be 
compared  as  to  which  was  superior.  Each  excelled  in  a  way  of 
his  own  ;  both  carried  their  parts  with  distinction.  When  Poland 
entered  the  Senate  in  the  prime  of  his  alert  and  vigorous  man- 
hood at  the  age  of  fifty,  no  one  doubted  that  he  would  make  his 
mark.  Ross,  less  widely  known,  took  his  seat  as  Senator  in  his 
74th  year  and  no  one  expected  any  thing  remarkable  from  him.  A 
surprise  was  coming. 

Within  forty-eight  hours  after  his  appointment,  wholly  unex- 
pected, he  had  all  outstanding  items  of  court  business  closed  up 
and  was  on  his  way  to  Washington.  He  reached  the  Senate 
chamber  in  time  to  participate  in  the  action  that  ratified  the 
treaty  with  Spain.  Inasmuch  as  this  was  carried  by  a  majority  of 
one  vote  only,  that  deciding  vote  may  now  be  said  to  have  arrived 


436  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

from  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  just  in  time  to  secure  the  ratification  of 
peace  with  Spain  by  the  Senate.  Immediately  new  and  delicate 
problems  were  thrust  upon  Congress  relating  to  the  impending  re- 
sponsibility for  Puerto  Rico  and  the  Philippine  Islands.  To  these 
questions  Senator  Ross  gave  close  attention  and  study  involving 
exhaustive  research,  historical  and  legal.  On  the  23d  of  January, 
1900,  he  introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  on  the  Relations  of  the 
United  States  to  its  Island  dependencies — asserting  for  substance 
that  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  itself  unaided  by  an  Act 
of  Congress  are  inadequate  for  suitable  sovereignty  over  these 
outlying  dependencies  ;  that  therefore  our  duty  to  them  demands 
the  creation  of  a  department  of  administration  and  the  passage  of 
a  law  to  make  appointments  thereto  unpolitical.  This  proposi- 
tion he  supported  with  remarks,  not  oratory,  and  did  not  immedi- 
ately catch  the  ear  of  the  Senate.  Presently  some  began  to  dis- 
cover that  he  was  master  of  his  theme.  Senator  Pettus  of  Ala- 
bama rose  to  say,  "this  is  an  important  question  and  it  is  a  great 
lawyer  who  is  speaking  ;  we  should  give  him  our  attention."  Five 
years  later  a  similar  estimate  from  the  legal  point  of  view  appeared 

in  THE    GREEN    BAG  : — 

"This  effort  made  a  sensation  throughout  the  country  and  marked 
Judge  Ross  as  a  man  of  national  fame,  and  beyond  question  it  shaped  the 
policy  of  the  nation  with  reference  to  our  Island  Possessions.  President 
McKinley  characterized  it  as  the  most  enlightening  treatment  of  the  subject 
he  had  yet  seen,  and  stated  that  it  led  him  to  a  complete  change  of  mind  as 
to  national  policy  in  regard  to  the  annexation  of  territory." 

Struck  by  a  railroad  train  near  the  East  Village,  Feb.  21, 
1905,  Judge  Ross  and  his  wife  met  the  sudden  death  that  startled 
and  saddened  the  whole  community.  State  officers  came  to  join 
with  his  townspeople  in  the  funeral  service  at  the  South  church 
of  which  he  was  the  senior  deacon  and  for  more  than  fifty  years 
teacher  of  a  class  in  the  Sunday  School.  In  his  public  service  as 
also  in  private  life  he  was  strenuous  for  righteousness  and  justice, 
with  a  deep  sense  of  responsibility  to  God  and  responsibility  for 
men. 

"Judge  Jonathan  Ross  was  a  representative  New  Englander,  one  of  the 
best  his  State  has  produced  within  the  last  century,  retaining  much  of  the 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  437 

conservatism  as  well  as  sturdiness  of  the  old  school  of  citizens ;  interested 
in  all  good  service  whether  political,  religious,  educational,  or  social  ;  an 
example  of  what  may  be  accomplished  through  the  genius  of  hard  work  and 
uprightness  of  character." 

Boston  Transcript 


TWO   EDUCATORS 

"It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  Teacher  as  truly  as  the  Judge  or  the 
Governor  is  a  public  servant,  with  functions  judicial  and  executive  of  su- 
preme importance  to  the  State." 

James  K.  Colby— In  their  careful  search  for  the  right  man 
to  carry  out  their  ideals  of  education  the  founders  of  St.  Johns- 
bury  Academy  were  providentially  led  to  a  most  felicitous  choice. 
Mr.  Colby,  with  little  previous  expeiience,  opened  the  school  in 
1842,  and  except  for  a  short  interval  presided  over  it  for  23 
years.  He  quietly  created  an  institution  that  gave  distinction  and 
honor  to  the  town.  The  suspicion  that  he  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  mark  probably  never  entered  his  mind,  he  was 
thinking  of  what  he  could  do  for  the  young  minds  around  him.  A 
discriminating  writer  remarked  that  while  he  passed  an  unevent- 
ful life  in  the  beautiful  village  to  whose  prosperity  and  attractive- 
ness he  contributed  so  much,  he  yet  possessed  a  thoroughness  of 
intellectual  training,  a  solidity  of  judgment,  a  self-control  and  ad- 
ministrative ability  sufficient  for  the  headship  of  a  college  or  the 
chief  magistracy  of  a  state. 

Principal  Colby  founded  his  school  on  a  well  defined  plan  : 
certain  things  were  as  corner  stones — exact  scholarship,  good 
manners,  character  building,  the  fear  of  God.  The  supreme 
object  was  to  train  boys  and  girls  to  become  intelligent  self- 
respecting  citizens  ;  whatever  was  most  important  for  community 
life  must  be  already  in  force  among  these  young  people  ;  first  of 
all  respect  for  authority  and  strict  fidelity  to  duty.  Insisting  that 
order  was  heaven's  first  law  and  fundamental  in  good  society  the 
Master  demanded  and  secured  it  in  his  little  kingdom.  His  com- 
manding figure  and  quiet  tones  inspired  respectful  attention ;  his 
words  were  few,  deliberate  and  weighty,  if  additional  emphasis 
became  necessary  there  was  a  smooth  ferule  in  the  drawer  whose 


438  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

merits  were  well  understood.  Usually  however  to  "hold  a  fretful 
realm  in^awe,"  the  sound  of  his  approaching  footstep  or  the  sig- 
nificant tap  of  his  pencil  sufficed — "the  tap  of  that  pencil,  how  well 
I  remember  it ;  more  potent  it  was  in  his  schoolroom  than  that  of 
Caesar's  finger  in  the  Roman  Senate."  Exactness  and  mastery  of 
every  detail  was  the  rule  to  which  he  rigidly  held  himself  as  well 
as  others.  That  explained  the  omission  of  the  Bible  exercise  one 
Saturday  morning  ;  sickness  had  interf erred  with  his  "suitable 
preparation."  Indifference  and  careless  work  merited  sore  dis- 
pleasure ;  every  painstaking  endeavor  was  encouraged,  usually  by 
some  hint  that  would  set  the  mind  on  the  track  of  working  out  its 
problem.  The  entire  plan  and  procedure  of  the  day  was  to 
awaken  unrecognized  abilities,  to  stimulate  good  impulses,  to 
root  deeply  in  the  mind  a  sense  of  responsibility.  One  who 
was  easily  a  non-conformist  in  opinion  affirmed  that  for  real 
eminence  as  an  instructor,  for  firmness  of  discipline  judiciously 
tempered  with  mildness,  for  the  quality  of  guide,  philosopher  and 
friend  to  youth,  Mr.  Colby  in  his  generation  was  without  a  peer. 
He  was  also  an  educator  unofficially  in  the  larger  life  of  the 
community  ;  shaping  public  opinion  and  inspiring  a  sense  of 
mutual  obligation  among  men.  He  had  the  weight  of  influence 
that  rests  on  a  well-balanced  mind,  clear  judgment  and  strong 
convictions  modestly  insisted  on.  Universally  respected  and  re- 
vered as  a  leading  citizen  his  name  added  dignity  to  the  town.  In 
the  South  Church  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders  and  pil- 
lars it  stands  in  lettering  of  the  language  that  he  loved  and 
taught: — 

JACOBUS   K.    COLBY 
ACADEMIC    PRECEPTOR 
ECCLESLE   DIACONUS 

Homer  T.  Fuller — The  Academy  of  the  second  quarter- 
century  was  as  truly  an  original  creation  of  Principal  Fuller  as  the 
former  had  been  of  his  honored  predecessor.  It  was  a  new  insti- 
tution with  the  mark  of  the  new  age  upon  it,  a  visible 
embodiment  of  his  versatility,  breadth  of  vision  and  "insatiable 
appetite   for    work."       Like   his   predecessor  a   native  of  New 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  439 

Hampshire  and  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth,  he  had  first  chosen  the 
Christian  ministry  for  his  life  work  ;  like  him  again  he  fulfilled  a 
Christian  ministry  of  conspicuous  usefulness  in  the  field  of 
education  and  as  a  man  among  men. 

Mr.  Fuller  had  been  urgently  desired  in  other  places  but  he 
was  attracted  to  St.  Johnsbury  by  the  moral  earnestness  of  the 
men  who  called  him  here  and  who  responded  to  the  large  ideals 
that  were  in  his  mind.  The  results  of  his  leadership  began  to 
appear  in  the  imposing  buildings  that  rose  on  the  grounds  in 
1872,  in  the  progressive  spirit  and  modern  scientific  methods,  in 
the  liberal  endowment  he  secured,  in  the  increasing  and  widely 
representative  enrollment,  in  the  high  rank  his  pupils  were  taking 
in  New  England  colleges.  All  this  was  a  continuation  of  the  fine 
record  of  former  years  but  on  a  broader  scale  and  under  higher 
pressure.  The  volume  of  life  energy  that  Principal  Fuller  poured 
into  this  institution  in  ten  years  seemed  adequate  for  twice  ten 
years,  and  indeed  the  momentum  he  gave  it  was  felt  long  after  he 
had  gone  to  expend  himself  in  like  manner  elsewhere.  His 
mantle  fell  on  fit  successors  :  Charles  E.  Putney  and  David  Y. 
Comstock  are  remembered  as  accomplished  educators,  unlike 
in  personality  and  temperament,  alike  in  their  careful  and 
scholarly  training  of  the  youth  and  in  their  active  promotion 
of  good  citizenship.  Principal  Fuller  was  not  only  a  master 
in  education  but  a  man  of  affairs.  In  the  church  and  in 
the  life  of  the  town  he  was  alert,  far-sighted,  solicitous  for 
the  public  welfare,  ready  to  serve  anywhere,  prompt  and  practical 
in  doing  things.  He  was  unfailingly  courteous  and  thoughtful  for 
everybody.  By  his  urbanity  and  wide  intelligence  he  had  ready 
access  to  men  ;  his  inquisitive  mind  absorbed  varied  learning 
which  flowed  easily  into  speech  or  written  papers  ;  his  retentive 
memory  enabled  him  to  fringe  the  most  ordinary  conversation 
with  instructive  facts  or  figures  or  illustrations.  He  traveled 
widely  in  this  country  and  abroad  and  had  acquaintance  with  men 
of  distinction  in  business  and  professional  life.  Scientific  and 
philanthropic  societies  welcomed  him  to  membership  ;  colleges 
conferred  their  honors  upon  him,  the  Ph.  D.  and  DD.  and  LL.  D. 
These  he  carried  lightly,  for  the  honor  most  prized  by  him  was 


440  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

the  privilege  of  being  a  servant  of  God  called  to  a  life  of  useful 
endeavor. 

Doctor  Fuller's  last  and  most  exacting  work  was  the 
presidency  of  Drury  College,  to  which  he  gave  the  eleven  ripest 
years  of  his  life ;  his  energetic  administration  revived  its  life  at 
a  critical  time  but  undermined  his  own.  He  died  in  1908  at 
Saranac  Lake,  New  York. 

Note.  That  St.  Johnstmry  has  been  favored  and  honored  in  the  work 
of  eminent  educators  is  recognized  in  the  words  of  Hon.  Joseph  A.  DeBoer 
incorporated  in  a  document  relating  to  Vermont,  issued  in  1900  by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  :— 

"But  the  Academy,  which,  of  all  others,  has  constantly  stood  forth  as  the 
most  progressive,  most  prosperous,  best  attended,  and  for  college  prepara- 
tory work,  the  most  successful  institution  in  the  state,  is  the  St.  Johnsbury 
Academy.  There  are  many  reasons  perhaps,  why  this  is  so — a  favoring  loca- 
tion, a  magnificent  plant,  very  complete  equipments,  eminent  instructors— 
*    *    well-directed,  ample,  unrestricted  private  munificence." 

TWO    GENERALS 

Asa  P.  Blunt — In  1876  a  driveway  was  opened  from 
Western  Avenue  to  the  high  bluff  afterward  known  as  South 
Park  where  Asa  P.  Blunt  had  built  the  square  house  now  the 
home  of  H.  W.  Blodgett.  He  was  at  that  time  a  draftsman  in 
charge  of  the  pattern  department  of  the  scale  works.  In  July, 
1861,  he  went  to  the  war  as  Adjutant  of  the  Third  Regiment,  the 
next  year  he  was  made  Colonel  of  the  Twelfth  Vermont.  After 
the  capture  of  Gen.  Stoughton  he  was  put  in  command  of  the 
Second  Vermont  Brigade  till  General  Stannard  assumed  it. 
Promotions  followed  rapidly  and  in  March,  1865,  he  was  breveted 
Brigadier  General  of  Volunteers  for  meritorious  services  in  the 
field.  His  ability  as  Quartermaster  in  different  departments  re- 
sulted in  his  becoming  Captain  and  Assistant  Quartermaster  in  the 
regular  army.  For  eleven  years  following  1877  he  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  military  station  at  Fort  Leavenworth  where  his 
administrative  abilities  brought  about  important  transformations. 
At  this  time  he  was  commissioned  brevet  Major  General  in  the 
United  States  Army. 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  441 

General  Blunt  is  remembered  by  his  St.  Johnsbury  friends  as 
a  man  of  slight  build,  soldierly  bearing  and  winning  personality. 
As  a  patriot  soldier  he  filled  with  credit  to  the  end  of  his  life  in 
1889,  official  positions  of  responsibility  and  honor. 

William  W.  Grout— While  St.  Johnsbury  did  not  have  the 
name  of  General.  Grout  on  the  check-list  he  seemed  essentially  a 
citizen  among  us,  tho  he  had  to  cross  the  town  line  a  few  rods  to 
reach  his  Sabine  farm  in  Kirby  on  the  ancestral  acres  cleared  in 
1799.  His  business,  post  office,  political,  church  and  social  rela- 
tions centered  in  this  town,  to  which  he  first  came  as  an  Academy 
student  in  1853.  He  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Barton  where 
he  enlisted  in  1862,  and  later  was  made  Lieut.  Colonel  under 
Colonel  Redfield  Proctor  of  the  Fifteenth  Regiment  which  was  in 
Stannard's  Brigade  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  other  engage- 
ments. After  the  St.  Albans  raid  he  was  commissioned  brevet 
Brigadier  General  of  Vermont  Militia  and  assigned  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Canadian  frontier. 

General  Grout  was  especially  known  for  his  services  as  rep- 
resentative from  the  Second  District ;  he  was  a  member  of  five 
Congresses  from  1880  to  1891,  having  several  times  received 
unanimous  renomination.  He  was  an  active  and  tireless  worker 
as  Congressman,  keenly  alive  to  the  public  interests  of  the  com- 
mon people ;  he  secured  the  enactment  of  the  bill  protecting 
dairymen  from  the  fraudulent  marketing  of  oleomargarine  or 
chemical  butter ;  he  obtained  suitable  recognition  of  Vermont 
maple  sugar  in  the  McKinley  tariff.  Through  his  efforts  the  U.  S. 
Fisheries  Station  was  established  at  St.  Johnsbury.  He  was  a 
rigid  teetotaler,  an  incorruptible  legislator,  loyal  always  to  his  con- 
victions, a  man  of  large,  generous  heart.  He  was  defeated  in  his 
aspirations  for  the  Senate  in  1900 ;  reverses  that  followed  he 
bore  manfully  ;  he  died  in  1902  and  was  buried  in  Grove  Ceme- 
tery at  East  St.  Johnsbury. 

General  Horace  K.  Ide— see  page  284. 

TWO    LIEUT.-GOVERNORS 

Henry  C.  Bates— The  law  firm  of  Bates  and  May  was  well 
known  in  the   town  for  twenty  years.      During  that  period  Mr. 


442  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Bates  was  twice  State's  Attorney,  once  Representative  and  recog- 
nized leader  of  the  House  at  Montpelier ;  twice  Senator  from 
Caledonia ;    Lieut.-Governor  1898-99. 

His  most  important  work  however  was  in  the  Philippines, 
when  in  1901  he  was  sent  by  President  McKinley  to  be  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  first  instance  in  Iloilo,  Island  of  Panay.  This 
position  he  held  in  a  manner  that  merited  praise  from  Washing- 
ton, till  obliged  by  considerations  of  health  after  six  years  to  re- 
turn to  America,  where  he  died  in  1909  at  Berkeley,  California. 
Of  his  standing  and  work  at  Iloilo  an  intelligent  estimate  was 
given   by  his  fellow  townsman,  Hon.  Henry  C.  Ide  of  Manilla  :  — 

"It  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  go  among  a  people  alien  in  race,  customs, 
traditions,  laws  and  language,  and  win  the  respect  and  love  of  the  people. 
But  this  Judge  Bates  did.  There  was  universal  confidence  in  his  integrity, 
fairness  and  ability.  His  district  was  one  of  the  most  important  in  the 
Philippine  Islands,  embracing  400,000  people,  or  more  than  the  entire  state  of 
Vermont,  and  he  was  the  only  Judge  for  all  these  people,  except  on  an 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  courteous  on  the  bench  and  off  it ; 
fair,  patient,  of  open  mind,  willing  to  listen,  with  a  strong  sense  of  justice. 
He  left  the  Islands  with  the  universal  respect  of  all  who  had  been  brought  in 
contact  with  him." 

Note.  Another  official  on  those  Islands  was  Charles  A.  Willard,  a 
native  of  this  town  who  in  1901  at  the  age  of  44  was  made  an  associate 
justice  of  the  supreme  court  at  Manilla.  He  had  a  seat  in  the  National  re- 
publican convention  of  1904  as  delegate  from  the  Philippines.  For  a  year  or 
more  after  his  graduation  from  Dartmouth  he  was  librarian  of  the  Athenaeum; 
He  died  in  1914  at  Minneapolis  where  he  had  been  judge  on  theU.  S.  district 
court. 

Leighton  P.  Slack — The  law-firm  of  Dunnett  and  Slack 
had  a  record  of  eighteen  years  of  substantial  business,  during 
twelve  of  which  years  the  town  committed  its  legal  affairs  to  Mr. 
Slack.  He  was  State's  Attorney  two  years  and  in  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1904  was  Senator  from  Caledonia.  Important  constructive 
work  devolved  on  him  while  in  the  Senate.  He  drafted  the  act 
which  created  the  office  of  Attorney  General,  and  had  a  leading 
hand  in  formulating  the  elaborate  bill  regulating  the  traffic  in  in- 
toxicating liquors  called  for  by  the  referendum  of  1903.  Governor 
Proctor  placed  him  on  the  Commission  to  make  a  study  of   the 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  443 

taxation  problem  the  report  of  which  was  submitted  at  the  legisla- 
tive session  of  1908.  In  1914  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Superior  Court. 

Alexander  Dunnett — was  appointed  United  States  District 
Attorney  for  the  four  years'  term  by  President  Roosevelt  in  1906, 
and  the  appointment  was  renewed  in  1910  by  President  Taft.  The 
District  comprises  the  State  of  Vermont. 

TWO   FEDERAL  JUSTICES 

Henry  C.  Ide — gained  early  recognition  as  a  lawyer  of 
judicial  gifts  and  at  the  age  of  forty-five  was  on  the  way  to  parti- 
cipate in  a  delicate  mission  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe. 
Governmental  troubles  in  the  Island  of  Samoa  occasioned  the 
appointment  of  a  commission  created  by  Great  Britain,  Germany 
and  the  United  States  to  secure  if  possible  a  solution  of  the 
points  at  issue.  Mr.  Ide  was  selected  by  President  Harrison  to 
represent  this  government  and  he  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Commission.  !He  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  formulating  and 
testing  a  scheme  of  adjustment  which  met  the  entire  approval  of 
the  King  of  Samoa  and  others  involved  in  the  disputes.  Under 
joint  appointment  of  the  three  powers  he  held  the  position  of 
Chief  Justice  of  Samoa  for  a  term  of  years  till  1897.  Three  years 
later  President  McKinley  placed  him  on  the  Taft  Commission 
charged  with  organizing  a  form  of  civil  government  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  Here  he  became  successively  secretary  of  finance 
and  justice,  vice  and  acting  governor,  and  in  1905  Governor 
General  of  the  Islands.  He  reorganized  the  monetary  system  of 
the  island  on  a  permanent  gold  basis  ;  formulated  the  land  and 
registration  act,  the  internal  revenue  law,  the  code  of  procedure  in 
civil  actions  and  some  three  hundred  minor  laws  enacted  by  the 
Commission.  At  a  banquet  tendered  him  1903  on  the  eve  of  a 
vacation,  Gov.  General  Taft  remarked : — 

"The  independent,  clear-sighted,  keenly  analytic  mind  of  Judge  Ide 
has  saved  the  Commission  from  doing  a  good  many  foolish  things.  He  has 
been  the  watch-dog  of  the  treasury  keeping  expenses  down.  The  code  of 
civil  procedure  which  is  working  so  well,  is   wholly  the  work  of  Judge  Ide. 


444  TOWN    OF    ST.   JOHNSBURY 

There  is  no  harder  working  commissioner  than  he,    and  his  work   is  done 
solely  with  a  view  to  the  public  interests  of  the  Islands." 

When  William  H.  Taft  became  President  of  the  United  States 
he  found  in  Mr.  Ide  a  man  whose  standing  and  services  in  the 
former  Colonial  possessions  of  Spain  rendered  him  peculiarly 
persona  grata  to  the  Spanish  government ;  he  was  sent  as  envoy 
extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of  Spain, 
which  position  he  held  till  the  incoming  [of  the  democratic 
administration. 

Wendell  P.  Stafford— St.  Johnsbury  Academy  1880  and 
Harvard  Law  School  1883,  began  and  continued  his  professional 
life  in  this  town  till  in  1904  he  was  called  to  Washington  by 
President  Roosevelt  to  be  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  This  took  him  from  the  Su- 
preme Bench  of  Vermont  on  the  fourth  year  following  his 
appointment  thereto.  While  holding  strictly  and  ably  to  his 
judicial  duties  he  has  accepted  invitations  to  address  distinguished 
audiences  on  commemorative  and  other  occasions  in  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Buffalo,  Boston  and  Washington.  He  interpreted  the 
lessons  of  the  hour  at  the  Tomb  of  General  Grant,  at  the  Wendell 
Phillips  Centennial,  at  the  Lake  Champlain  Ter-centenary,  in 
our  State  Capitol  rehearsing  the  heroic  story  of  Vermont.  A 
volume  issued  from  the  Caledonian  press  containing  twenty-seven 
of  these  addresses,  shows  mastery  in  many  fields,  breadth  and 
finish  of  culture  and  a  versatility  of  expression  as  varied  as  the 
many  sorts  of  themes  passing  under  review.  In  the  volumes  en- 
titled North  Flowers  and  Dorian  Days  are  grouped  selections 
from  Mr.  Stafford's  verse — the  latter  as  with  inspirations  from 
Parnassus,  presents  both  classic  and  current  themes  in  the  lyric 
measures  and  spirit  of  the  Hellenic  poets. 

At  the  110th  anniversary  of  Middlebury  College  Mr.  Stafford 
was  called  to  deliver  the  poem  of  the  occasion ;  his  subject  felici- 
tously chosen  was — Vermont.  Referring  to  this,  one  of  the 
keenest-minded  men  of  the  State  remarked  : — "I  consider  it  the 
noblest  and  most  finely  phrased  tribute  of  veneration  which  any 
son  of  Vermont  has  ever  brought  to  an  alma  civitas,  and,  for  that 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  445 

matter,  know  of  nothing  more  eloquent,  heart-searching  and  loyal, 
ever  given  by  any  laureate  to  the  country  of  his  birth.' ■  A  few 
lines  from  this  poem  are  here  given  : — 

VERMONT 

dear  little  state  among  the  dark  green  hills, 
Who  for  thy  never-changing  bounds  didst  take 
The  long,  bright  river  and  the  azure  lake, 

And  whose  deep  lap  the  short-lived  summer  fills 

With  sudden  sweetness  till  its  wealth  o'erspills, — 
How  shall  we  sing  thee  for  thy  beauty's  sake, 
Or  praise  thee  in  a  voice  that  shall  not  break 

For  pathos  of  the  theme  wherewith  it  thrills  ? 

Thou  sit'st  with  loins  upgirt,  like  those  that  wait, 
Not  those  that  slumber  ;  and  round  thy  knees 
True  sons  of  thine,  scorners  of  fear  and  ease, 

Make  music  of  their  toil,  early  and  late  ; 

For  thou  art  fitly  compassed  in  thy  state 

By  fields  of  clover,  reddening  to  the  breeze, 
Hummed  over  by  the  blithe  and  laboring  bees 

And  guarded  by  the  mountains  calm  and  great. 

Swarm  after  swarm  thy  children  have  gone  forth 
But  still  the  old  hive  keeps  its  golden  store, 
Filled  by  the  same  bright  service  as  before 

With  frugal  bounty  and  unwasted  worth. 


And  thou  dost  watch  with  sweet  solicitude 
The  plowfields  putting  on  their  green  attire, 
The  blue  smoke  curling  from  the  cottage  fire, 

The  little  school  house,  many-scarred  and  rude, 
Half  shrinking  in  the  shadow  of  the  wood, 
And,  ringed  with  loving  elms,  the  tall  white  spire. 

Mother  of  Men  !  whom  the  green  hills  enthrone, 
From  whose  bright  feet  the  rivers  haste  away, 
Thou  of  the  ages  art— we  of  a  day, 

Yet  we  have  loved  thee  and  thy  love  have  known, 

And  if  with  too  faint  breath  our  reeds  are  blown 
To  carry  the  great  burden  of  our  lay — 
Yet  some  true  notes  among  our  measures  play — 

The  shame  will  all  be  ours,  the  honor  thine  alone. 


446  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

ONE    MAN 
Public  service  in  private  life 

There  was  a  man  who  carried  the  uplift  of  the  people  as  a 
burden  on  his  heart.  Limitations  of  vitality  and  business  cares 
did  not  check  his  lavish  expenditure  of  thought  and  effort  for 
public  betterment.  It  was  early  influential  in  the  Sunday  School 
and  church ;  later  in  educational  and  civic  matters,  in  village  im- 
provement, in  originating  and  shaping  the  plan  of  an  Academy  ; 
later  still  in  the  legislature,  securing  among  other  things  an  Act 
for  the  Improvement  of  our  Common  Schools.  This  was  but  the 
beginning  of  toils  for  the  schools  of  Vermont,  kept  up  for  years 
in  voluminous  correspondence  with  Ex-Gov.  Eaton,  first  Super- 
intendent of  Schools,  in  tireless  efforts  to  awaken  public  senti- 
ment, in  organizing  state  and  county  associations,  in  establishing 
the  Vermont  School  Journal,  subscribing  for  100  copies  for  this 
county  and  later  guaranteeing  a  thousand,  in  a  constant  quiet 
way  of  making  up  various  deficits.  Partisan  interests  in  the  legis- 
lature of  1851  nullified  the  School  law — a  heavy  blow  to  its  orig- 
inator, who,  contemplating  the  state  now  bereft  of  a  Superinten- 
dent of  Schools,  remarked  :  "I  had  so  loved  Vermont  and  felt 
so  proud  of  her  reputation  wherever  I  have  traveled  in  other 
states  of  the  Union  that  I  can  hardly  endure  the  thought  of  her 
degradation."  The  toils  of  these  years  however  were  not  with- 
out ultimate  permanent  results,  tho  he  died  without  the  sight 
thereof ;  the  efficient  public  school  system  of  later  years  owed 
more  than  most  men  have  ever  known  to  his  far-sighted  plans 
and  unremitting  efforts. 

His  activities  for  the  public  benefit  took  wide  range.  He 
was  aboundingly  and  modestly  benevolent  distributing  multitudi- 
nous gifts  anonymously  and  with  a  fine  sense  of  adaptation.  He 
served  the  church  universal  with  ardent  devotion.  In  quiet  ways 
and  in  all  directions  he  was  influencing  public  opinion  toward  gen- 
eral improvement.  Hundreds  of  pages  of  letters  and  press 
articles  went  out  from  his  pen  on  almost  every  theme  of  current 
importance,  such  as  agriculture  and  stock-raising,  the  attractions 
and  opportunities  of  Vermont,    the  value  of  scientific  methods, 


IN  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  447 

phenomena  of  nature,  books,  reading  and  libraries,  home  life, 
current  issues  in  religion  and  politics,  education,  slavery,  temper- 
ance, morals  and  health,  world-wide  Christian  missions.  Self- 
seeking  was  as  far  from  his  thought  as  the  planet  Mars. 

Some  things  he  advocated  before  their  day  had  come,  not  in- 
frequently the  hand  that  gave  an  initiative  impulse  was  undetected. 
As  early  as  1845  he  urged  the  legislature  of  Vermont  to  petition 
Congress  to  take  initiative  measures  in  favor  of  international  ar- 
bitration, suggesting  that  a  congress  of  nations  be  called  for  the 
purpose.  He  wrote  to  Washington  Irving,  then  at  the  height  of 
his  fame,  imploring  him  as  the  leading  American  man  of  letters 
to  crown  his  work  and  serve  his  countrymen  by  preparing  a 
History  of  the  United  States  of  America.  In  the  pages  of  Irving's 
Life  of  Washington  covering  the  birth  and  establishing  of  the 
nation,  we  of  this  town  may  be  allowed  to  detect  an  initiative  im- 
pulse that  reached  the  Sunnyside  study  from  the  south  end  of  St. 
J®hnsbury  Plain.  A  similar  impulse  from  the  same  hand  advo- 
cated in  one  of  the  Boston  papers  the  founding  in  that  city  of  a 
free  public  library  two  years  before  the  corner  stone  of  that 
institution  was  laid. 

These  multiplied  activities  were  carried  on  without  detriment 
to  the  daily  business  efficiency  or  to  the  important  and  delicate 
trusts  committed  to  him  in  his  own  town.  But  his  vital  resources 
were  prematurely  exhausted,  too  soon  the  silver  cord  was  loosed 
and  his  work  among  men  was  done.  If  the  world's  need  could 
have  kept  him  he  had  not  gone  so  soon. 

In  filial  remembrance  of  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks. 


XXXIII 


UTILITIES 


"Every  person  in  the  state  has  a  direct  or  indirect  interest  in  the  proper 
management  of  our  public  utilities."  The  Outlook 


MAIL    SERVICE — BANKS — TEL    AND     TEL — STREET      LIGHTS — FIRE 
TRUCKS — FISHERIES — CEMETERIES 


Water  supplies  and  fire  engines  which  would  naturally  fall 
under  this  head  have  been  treated  on  pages  297-304. 

THE    POST   OFFICE 

For  thirteen  years,  during  which  time  there  was  no  Post 
Office  in  the  town,  mail  was  brought  in  irregularly  by  post  riders 
or  anybody  else,  and  deposited  at  the  tavern  or  store,  as  narrated 
on  pages  173-176.  In  1803  an  Office  was  located  at  St.  Johnsbury 
Plains,  and  Joseph  E.  Dow  was  made  Postmaster.  Like  David 
Dunbar  of  Danville,  he  may  have  found  that  this  government 
berth  was  "not  as  profitable  as  a  good  farrow  cow,"  but  it  gave  a 
man  distinction  in  those  days  to  hold  a  commission  issued  from 
Washington  City.  Some  of  these  old  commissions  have  survived 
the  changing  administrations  and  are  now  on  file  at  the  Athe- 
naeum— "Confiding  in  the  Integrity,  Ability,  and  Punctuality  of 
Daniel  Chamberlin  Esq.,  I  do  appoint  him  a  Postmaster  and 
authorize  him  to  execute  the  duties  of  that  Office  at  St.  Johns- 
bury,  State  of  Vermont,"  etc.;  so  runs  the  document  given  out 
March  30,  1820,  by  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  Jr.,  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral under  President  Monroe  : — 


UTILITIES  449 

Note— This  was  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  2nd.  His  grandfather,  Jona- 
than Meigs  of  Connecticut,  when  paying  attentions  to  one  of  the  daughters 
of  the  land  found  her  so  coquettish  or  unpersuadable  that  he  finally  mounted 
his  horse  saying  he  should  not  return  again.  As  he  rode  slowly  down  the 
lane  she  followed,  and  at  the  gate,  called  out,  "Return,  Jonathan  !  Return  ! 
and  I  will  marry  thee !"  He  returned,  they  were  married,  and  the  first  born 
son,  1740,  was  named  Return  Jonathan  Meigs.  His  son,  born  1765,  became 
Chief  Justice  and  Governor  of  Ohio,  and  was  the  Postmaster  General  Return 
Jonathan  Meigs  Jr.,  whose  signature  is  on  the  commission  of  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  Postmaster  of  1820. 

This  is  the  story  as  narrated  in  Appleton's  Cyclopedia  of 
Biography  and  noted  in  the  Meigs  Journal  of  the  Expedition 
against  Quebec,  1775.  A  letter  addressed  to  the  Boston  Tran- 
script in  1912  asking  further  information,  brought  out  the  same  ver- 
sion from  two  correspondents,  one  of  whom  had  it  verbally  from  Dr. 
Return  Jonathan  Meigs  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  a  lineal  descendant. 
But  this  is  the  age  of  relentless  historical  criticism  and  another 
writer  in  a  later  issue  of  the  Transcript  affirmed  on  apparently 
substantial  grounds,  that  the  story  was  mere  frostwork  of  the 
imagination  melting  away  under  the  sunlight  of  truth. 

But  we  of  this  latitude,  who  let  in  the  winter  sunlight  thro 
glass  windows,  have  some  appreciation  of  the  decorative  functions 
of  frostwork  thereon,  and  are  kindly  disposed  to  some  touches 
of  it  in  the  traditions  of  the  town.  The  prosaic  statement  that  a 
Meigs  signature  has  been  found  among  our  town  papers  would 
not  take  vivid  hold  of  the  imagination  unless  embellished  with 
some  footnote  frostwork  of  tradition  or  fact,  whichever  it  may  be. 

Inasmuch  as  St.  Johnsbury  was  not  in  1820  a  remarkably 
temperate  town,  it  may  not  have  been  the  one  referred  to  in  the 
following  incident.  A  printed  circular  issued  during  Monroe's 
administration  by  the  Post  Office  department  carried  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  page  the  autograph  in  facsimile  of  Return  J.  Meigs. 
A  county  postmaster  mistook  this  signature  for  a  postscript 
order,  reading  "Return  your  Mugs."  He  wrote  the  department 
that  he  "had  the  honor  to  report  that  no  mugs  were  used  in  his 
office." 

Chamberlin's  first  quarterly  report  April,  May,  June,  1820, 
shows  receipts  of  $30.10  ;    of  which  $3.54}^  was  postage  prepaid 


450  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

on  letters  mailed  at  this  office,  and  $26.55^,  nearly  eight  times 
as  much,  was  postage  on  letters  unpaid  or  underpaid  received  at 
this  office.  Postage  on  letters  at  this  date  was  from  ten  to 
twenty-five  cents.  The  appointment  of  February  25,  1829,  in 
Jackson's  administration  was  as  follows — "The  Honorable  Mr. 
Buck,  Representative  from  Vermont,  is  informed  by  the  Post- 
master General  that  he  has  this  day  appointed  Joseph  P.  Fair- 
banks Esq.  to  be  Postmaster  at  St.  Johnsbury  Plains,  Vt.,  vice 
Ephraim  Paddock."  Opposite  Abel  Rice's  tavern  was  the  small 
building  near  the  present  bank  block  where  J.  P.  Fairbanks  had 
his  law  office,  book  store  and  the  Postoffice  all  in  one.  His  suc- 
cessor in  1832  was  Moses  Kittredge,  who  kept  the  office  in  his 
store  where  the  Brown  block  now  stands,  and  here  it  remained 
twelve  years.  In  his  time  "there  were  three  mails  a  week  and 
sometimes  there  would  be  as  many  as  a  dozen  letters  in  a  single 
day"  as  Frank  Brown  the  lively  clerk  once  told  me.  Reduced 
rates  of  postage  were  then  welcomed  ;  only  six  cents  to  Danville, 
ten  to  Montpelier,  twelve  and  a  half  cents  across  Lake  Champlain, 
eighteen  and  three-fourths  cents  to  Boston. 

DIMICK   SORTS   THE    MAIL 

Under  President  Polk  the  office  went  to  Victor  M.  Dimick. 
He  had  no  place  of  business  and  the  best  he  could  do  was  to  lease 
the  basement  of  a  small  house  a  little  way  down  the  street.  This 
was  probably  under  the  old  law  office  and  bookstore.  The  en- 
trance was  thro  a  bulkhead  on  the  south  side,  and  from  the  door- 
sill  there  was  a  step  down  before  reaching  the  floor.  The  room 
was  very  small ;  it  contained  a  few  pigeon  holes  for  mail,  a  chair 
or  two  and  a  single  bed  for  the  postmaster.  During  the  day  the 
bed  was  jacked  up  against  the  wall,  when  let  down  it  would  be 
directly  front  of  the  door.  Stages  arrived  at  9  o'clock  P.  M.,  6 
o'clock  A.  M.  The  postmaster  used  to  get  up,  sort  the  mail,  then 
lie  down  again  for  a  nap.  This  he  was  doing  one  mid-winter 
morning,  1846.  A  near-sighted  man  happened  along  that  morn- 
ing with  the  mail  from  the  Fairbanks  counting  room.  It  was  cold 
and  dark.  A  dim  lamp  twinkled  inside.  In  his  haste  the  mail 
carrier  quite  forgot  about  the  step  below  the  door,  and   plunged 


UTILITIES  451 

in  on  to  the  sleeping  postmaster.  The  grapple  that  ensued  was 
not  lacking  in  energy ;  Dimick  never  heard  the  last  of  his  attempt 
at  assorting  the  early  male. 

Dimick  was  not  a  success  as  postmaster.  The  whigs  con- 
sidered him  an  undesirable  choice  for  a  democrat,  and  for  some 
time  they  made  Passumpsic  their  postoffice  for  outgoing  and  in- 
coming mail.  This  did  not  prove  convenient.  They  finally  got 
Dimick  out  and  Landlord  Hutchinson  in,  so  for  a  time  the  mail 
distribution  went  back  to  the  tavern  as  it  was  in  the  old  days  be- 
fore the  advent  of  a  postoffice. 

But  James  K.  Polk  was  still  President  and  it  was  not  long 
before  George  C.  Barney,  the  most  exuberant  of  democrats  here- 
about had  the  office  over  in  his  shoe-shop  in  the  building  whose 
narrow  gable  still  fronts  the  street  just  above  Union  Block.  After 
Zachary  Taylor's  inauguration  it  went  back  across  the  street 
again  to  Ephraim  Jewett,  an  equally  bouyant  and  manifest  whig. 
But  Barney  kept  pegging  away  at  his  shoe  bench  and  bided  the 
time  for  his  second  innings  which  came  to  his  entire  satisfaction 
during  the  two  administrations  that  preceded  the  civil  war.  Our 
war-time  Postmasters  were  Col.  Geo.  A.  Merrill  and  Emerson 
Hall,  very  efficient  and  popular  officials,  as  were  their  immediate 
successors,  H.  W.  Fleetwood,  Charles  P.  Carpenter  and  N.  P. 
Bowman. 

For  nearly  110  years  the  St.  Johnsbury  Postoffice  has  been  on 
or  near  its  present  location.  The  new  quarters  in  the  brick  block 
were  first  occupied  January  7,  1870.  The  increase  of  population 
and  business  eastward  has  led  to  frequent  petitions  for  the  re- 
moval of  the  office  to  some  more  central  point ;  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  the  new  federal  building  for  which  Congress  has  made  ap- 
propriation will  be  on  Eastern  Avenue.  In  April,  1872,  a  branch 
accommodation  office  was  opened  in  the  Randall  store  on  Rail- 
road street.  In  1883,  a  similar  branch  office  was  established  in 
Summerville ;  H.  V.  Powers  had  it  till  1888,  and  C.  F.  Weeks  till 
August,  1891,  when  in  view  of  the  annexation  then  effected,  it 
was  discontinued,  free  delivery  being  thereafter  in  force  for  the 
entire  village.  Station  one,  for  stamps  and  money  orders  is  at 
Stiles'  store  on  Railroad  street,  number  two  is  at    Renfrew's  in 


452  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Summerville — from  these  stations  $8,625  postage  was  sold  in 
1912,  and  3505  money  orders  were  issued. 

St.  Johnsbury  was  designated  for  a  money  office  in  1865. 
No  record  of  the  earlier  transactions  is  found.  In  1880  the 
amount  sent  out  of  town  on  1635  domestic  money  orders  was 
$17,923.61,  also  $224.25  sent  to  Canada  and  $224.34  to  Great 
Britain.  The  amount  received  on  domestic  orders  was  $23,583.48. 
In  1912  there  were  10,008  domestic  orders  issued,  carrying  out 
$64,641.56,  on  which  the  fees  aggregated  $584.79.  Besides  these 
there  were  sent  out  $6,052.60  on  foreign  orders.  The  total  money 
order  transactions  of  the  year  exceeded  a  quarter  of  a  million  dol- 
lars. It  should  be  remembered  that  this  office  is  a  business 
center  for  nearly  forty  smaller  offices  in  this  region. 

Free  delivery  was  granted  October  1,  1889,  under  Major 
Bowman  ;  not  because  we  had  10,000  inhabitants,  but  because  the 
office  showed  receipts  for  1888  of  $12,000,  which  was  $200  in  ex- 
cess of  the  limit  required  for  free  delivery.  At  first  there  were 
two  daily  deliveries  and  one  at  5  o'clock  in  the  business  sections. 
J.  K.  Bonett,  J.  A.  Paddock  and  H.  A.  Holder  were  the  carriers. 
The  cost  of  free  delivery  in  1900,  the  first  year,  was  $4,306.85,  the 
largest  in  the  state,  due  to  the  mileage  covered.  There  are  now 
two  general  and  four  business  deliveries,  and  six  carriers  whose 
trips  average  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  daily. 

Rural  delivery  began  March  1,  1902,  with  two  routes  ;  the 
first  easterly  21  miles,  serving  an  area  of  15  square  miles,  87 
houses,  and  a  population  of  391,  H.  R.  Chesley,  carrier ;  the 
second  northwesterly  22  miles,  area  15  square  miles,  houses  101, 
population  454,  E.  F.  Sherburne,  carrier.  During  the  first  year 
48,731  pieces  of  mail  were  delivered.  There  are  now  four  routes, 
one  of  which,  Jason  W.  Carpenter  carrier,  reaches  a  maximum  of 
24  miles,  including  besides  this  town  parts  of  Danville,  Stannard 
and  Wheelock. 

POSTAL   NOTES 

Parcel  Post.  Forty  countries  had  Parcel  Post  service  before 
we  did.  It  was  needed  here  as  long  ago  as  April  ]865,  when  $^.50 
postage  was  paid  on  a  pair  of  shoes  mailed  from   our  office  to    a 


UTILITIES  453 

soldier  boy  in  New  Orleans.  Parcel  Post  was  regularly  estab- 
lished in  January,  1913. 

Round  about  route.  Two  letters  in  1883  were  dropped  into 
the  office  together  ;  one  was  addressed  to  Chicago,  the  other  to 
Fairbanks  Village.  The  latter  contained  $25.00.  It  seems  to 
have  stuck  to  the  Chicago  letter  and  accompanied  it  to  that  city  ; 
neither  there  nor  in  Milwaukee  nor  in  Minneapolis  to  which  points 
it  was  forwarded  could  any  Fairbanks  Village  be  found.  Its  next 
trip  was  to  Fairbanks,  Franklin  Co.,  Maine,  thence  to  the  dead 
letter  office.  In  due  time  it  arrived  and  delivered  its  contents  to 
the  waiting  recipient  in  Fairbanks  Village  on  Sleeper's  River. 

Yielded  up  by  the  Sea.  A  letter  addressed  to  St.  Johnsbury 
and  postmarked  Constantinople,  March  2,  1886,  was  sunk  in  the 
steamer  Oregon  at  sea  off  Fire  Island,  N.  Y.  On  the  sixth  day 
of  May,  it  was  received  at  this  office  having  been  recovered  in  the 
last  mail  pouch  fished  out  from  the  wreck.  Three  weeks  in  salt 
water  sufficed  to  dim  but  not  obliterate  the  superscription. 

Resumption  of  specie  payment.  A  letter  to  Postmaster  Hazen 
in  1904  contained  a  quarter  of  a  dollar.  This  was  to  pay  the 
Railroad  Company  for  a  trip  the  sender  had  taken  from  the 
Center  Village  to  this  place  33  years  before.  The  conductor  had 
overlooked  him. 

Address  List.  The  following  persons  were  addressed  as 
follows : 

Geo.  May 

St.  Johnsbury 

Darmont,  Canada. 
May  1884 

San  gOnsbury  santr 

Mristr  abal  purs 

(Abel  Pierce,  St.  J.  Center 

Sept.  18, 1868) 
direCt  thise  liter  to 
9inty  fore  Portland  Strete 
St.  Gonsbery  Vt. 

Pies   giv  thise  liter  to 
yoUr  sin  in  law  and  til 
him  to  giv  it  to  his 
nerest  nebor. 

The  nearest  neighbor  was  duly  found  by  John  H.  Moore,  Carrier, 
February  1892. 

Letters  bearing  44  variant  spellings  were  delivered  to  W.  O.  Rocheleau 
in  1902. 

Letters  addressed  "Est  odique"  and  "ipone"  were  forwarded  from  this 
office  to  East  Hardwick  and  Island  Pond,  o.  k. 


454 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Christmas.  During  Christmas  week  1911,  there  were  sold  at 
this  office,  31,000  one  cent  stamps  and  22,000  two  cent  stamps; 
50,000  picture  post  cards  were  handled.  All  packages  were  de- 
livered by  horse  teams  and  fifty  mail  sacks  were  dispatched  on 
the  night  service  in  addition  to  the  large  number  sent  during  the 
day.     The  stamp  sales  that  week  aggregated  $1400.00. 

Salaries.  In  1830  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks,  Postmaster,  was 
allowed  $50  salary ;  some  while  after  1860  the  salary  had  risen  to 
$1000;  subsequent  to  1880  it  became  $2000;  in  1890  it  was 
$2200,  prior  to  1900  it  rose  to  $2400 ;  at  this  writing  in  1912  it  is 
$2700. 

The  gross  receipts  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Plain  office  in  the 
year  1912  were  $30,665.83  which  yielded  a  net  revenue  to  the 
government  of  $11,598.36. 


POSTMASTERS 


ST.  JOHNSBURY   PLAIN 


Joseph  E.  Dow 
Barnabas  Barker 
Amaziah  D.  Barber 
Ephraim  Paddock 
Daniel  Chamberlin 
Reuben  H.  Deming 
Ephraim  Paddock 
Jos.  P.  Fairbanks 
Moses  Kittredge 
Victor  M.  Dimick 
Joseph  Hutchinson 
Geo.  C.  Barney 


ST.  JOHNSBURY   CENTER 

Ezra  Sanger 
Horace  Evans 
Wm.  P.  Stoughton 
John  Bacon 
Hiram  Weeks 
Edward  M.  Ide 
Byron  Wright 
Truman  Harriman 
Lester  D.  Stiles 
George  A.  Dow 


1803-1806 

Ephraim  Jewett 

1849-1853 

1806-1807 

Joseph  C.  Fuller 

1853-1853 

1807-1815 

Geo.  C.  Barney 

1853-1861 

1815-1820 

Geo.  A.  Merrill 

1861-1862 

1820-1823 

Emerson  Hall 

1862-1866 

1823-1827 

H.  W.  Fleetwood 

1866-1875 

1827-1829 

Chas.  P.  Carpenter 

1875-1887 

1829-1832 

N.  P.  Bowman 

1887-1892 

1832-1846 

W.  W.  Sprague 

1892-1894 

1846-1847 

F.  G.  Bundy 

1894-1898 

1847-1847 

L.  D.  Hazen 

1898-1909 

1847-1849 

Arthur  F.  Stone 

1909-1912 

A.  H.  Gleason 

1913 

(ER 

ST.    JOHNSBURY 

EAST 

In  part 

Calvin  Morrill 

David  Goodall 

Leon  Goodall 

George  B.  Goodall 

Fernando  Harrington 

Lewis  W.  Fisher 

Roy  E.  Blodgett 

UTILITIES  455 

BANKING   INSTITUTIONS 

The  Old  Passumpsic  Bank,  1850  Considering  the  manu- 
facturing done  and  the  amount  of  general  business  in  the  town, 
it  seems  today  surprising  that  up  to  the  year  1850  our  fathers  had 
to  climb  the  hills  to  Danville  for  their  banking  privileges.  There 
had  been  difficulties  in  procuring  a  charter  ;  the  bill  which  finally 
chartered  the  Passumpsic  Bank  of  St.  Johnsbury,  encountered 
serious  obstacles  put  up  by  other  banks,  before  arriving  at  its 
passage,  on  the  13th  November,  1849.  The  authorized  capital  was 
$100,000,  in  shares  of  $50  each.  Subscription  books  were  opened 
and  on  February  1,  1850  there  were  4357  subscribers  who  had  taken 
6926  shares ;  these  were  mostly  in  Caledonia  County,  but  with  a 
considerable  distribution  thro  six  other  counties.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  stockholders  to  fix  the  location  of  the  Bank  there  were  170 
votes  for  the  Center  Village  and  1650  for  the  Plain.  A  building 
was  erected  for  a  banking  house,  to  be  occupied  in  part  by  the 
family  of  the  cashier  ;  that  building,  now  owned  by  the  Athenaeum, 
stands  between  the  Art  Gallery  and  the  Berry-Ball  store  ;  the 
original  site  was  on  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk.  Seven  directors 
were  appointed,  viz :  J.  P.  Fairbanks,  Barron  Moulton,  John 
Bacon,  Calvin  Morrill,  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Henry  Keyes  of  New- 
bury, E.  B.  Chase  of  Lyndon,  Harry  Baxter  of  Barton.  Business 
was  begun  May  1,  1850. 

The  bills  issued  by  the  new  Bank  were  regarded  with  interest 
in  this  town ;  the  three  dollar  one  would  be  a  curiosity  today  ; 
they  presented  cuts  of  the  farming  and  mechanical  industries  ; 
withal  it  was  a  new  and  pleasing  thing  to  see  the  name  St.  Johns- 
bury on  a  bank  note.  Nearly  forty  years  later  a  writer  said:  "I 
have  before  me  one  of  the  original  Passumpsic  Bank  Bills,  worth 
much  more  to  me  than  any  one  dollar  it  promises  to  pay — because 
of  the  two  strong,  well  rounded  signatures  with  which  it  is  graced: 
viz  :  J.  P.  Fairbanks,  President  and  E.  C.  Redington,  Cashier — 
men  of  great  transparency  and  simplicity  of  character,  of  incor- 
ruptible integrity  and  fine  generosity,  whose  memories  are  still 
gratefully  cherished." 

Under  the  National  Banking  Act  of  February  25,  1863,  it  be- 
came necessary  to  re-organize,  and  the  result  was  the  establish- 


456  TOWN    OF    ST.   JOHNSBURY 

ment  of  the  First  National  Bank.  Cashier  Redington  and  Jona- 
than Ross  took  in  hand  the  assets  of  the  old  Passumpsic  ;  after  all 
bills  had  been  redeemed  and  outstanding  debts  paid,  the  stock- 
holders received  the  face  value  of  their  shares  plus  $4.01,  that  is 
$54.01.  The  affairs  of  the  Bank  were  satisfactorily  wound  up 
August  2, 1864,  about  three  months  after  the  opening  of  the  First 
National,  which  bought  the  property. 

In  October  1864,  "a  great  loss  of  property  by  fire"  was  re- 
ported on  the  street.  It  proved  to  be  $55,000,  of  Passumpsic 
Bank  bills  burned  by  order  of  the  Directors  ;  $6,600  had  been 
previously  incinerated. 

When  the  Bank  Commissioners,  bearers  of  specie,  were  here 
to  arrange  for  the  opening  of  the  Bank,  May  1,  1850,  a  stranger 
appeared  whose  movements  occasioned  suspicion.  It  came  out 
afterward  that  this  was  the  notorious  convict,  Bristol  Bill,  who  on 
the  21st  of  June  struck  down  State's  Attorney  Bliss  N.  Davis  in 
the  Danville  Court  House.  His  next  stopping  place  was  at 
Windsor. 

Passumpsic  Savings  Bank,  1853  Under  charter  of  October 
1852,  this  first  Savings  Bank  was  organized  at  the  St.  Johnsbury 
House  January  26, 1853,  with  Barron  Moulton,  President,  and  E.  C. 
Redington,  Treasurer.  It  appeared  as  an  adjunct  of  the  old  Pas- 
sumpsic Bank,  in  the  rooms  of  which  its  business  was  transacted 
for  six  years.  In  1858  it  was  transferred  to  the  store  of  Boynton 
and  Deming  in  the  Union  Block.  Three  years  later  Jonathan 
Ross  succeeded  Deming  as  Treasurer  and  his  office  on  the  east 
side  of  the  street  became  headquarters.  In  1869  it  was  taken 
back  to  Union  Block,  David  Boynton  being  Treasurer.  For  the 
next  ten  years  its  business  had  steady  growth  and  in  1879  it  set 
up  an  establishment  of  its  own  over  the  Bingham  drug  store, 
where  it  prospered  till  in  1885  it  erected  for  its  use  the  commod- 
ious and  tasteful  Passumpsic  Bank  Block,  at  an  expense  of 
$15,000,  including  the  site. 

In  June  1877,  William  S.  Boynton  was  appointed  to  succeed 
his  father  as  Treasurer ;  he  retained  the  position  35  years,  and 
was  at  his  desk  as  usual  on  the  day  of  his  sudden  death,  April  9, 
1912.     The  treasurership  was  then  conferred  on  Richard  C.  Baker 


UTILITIES  457 

who  had  at  that  time  been  in  the  service  of  the  Bank  24  years. 
Passumpsic  Savings  Bank  ended  its  first  year  with  $34,838.99  de- 
posits ;  it  opened  its  sixty-first  year  with  deposits  of  $2,812, 
550.53  ;  the  number  of  depositors  being  7025.  All  the  assets  and 
property  of  this  Bank%  belong  to  the  depositors  ;  there  are  no 
other  stockholders.  Dividends  to  the  amount  of  $2,178,595.10 
have  been  distributed  to  the  depositors. 

First  National  Bank  On  the  ninth  of  May,  1864,  this 
Bank  was  organized  with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  This  was  increas- 
ed in  1865  to  $250,000,  in  1869  to  $450,000,  in  1873  to  $500,000. 
For  twenty  years  it  remained  at  that  figure ;  during  this  time 
two  other  banks  were  established  and  doing  good  business  ;  the 
capital  of  the  First  National  was  reduced  in  1893  to  $400,000,  in 
1901  to  $300,000,  in  1905  to  $200,000,  at  which  it  stands  today.  It 
has  paid  in  dividends  $1,236,000,  which  is  a  little  over  three  times 
its  average  capital  of  $400,000.  During  the  panicky  year  of  1873, 
1  'notwithstanding  its  tottering  condition,"  its  net  earnings  were 
$65,000,  of  which  $50,000  were  applied  to  dividends,  $15,000  to 
surplus.  In  1912  the  surplus  and  undivided  profits  were 
$62,679.61.  The  valuation  of  the  banking  house  erected  in  1869 
is  $16,000.  In  1895  extensive  improvements  were  made  and  a 
new  safety  vault  installed  ;  this  has  outer  and  inner  walls  of  brick 
and  granite,  16  and  18  inches  thick,  separated  by  a  five  inch  air 
space  ;  and  a  steel  lining  of  welded  iron  and  steel,  considered 
proof  against  drilling  or  sledging.  The  outer  door  of  six  inch 
solid  steel  is  automatic  in  action,  when  closed  it  throws  and  bolts 
the  locks,  which  are  released  by  chronometer  device.  The 
weight  of  this  door  is  three  tons. 

Presidents  of  the  First  National:  Luke  P.  Poland,  1864; 
Horace  Fairbanks,  1887;  Franklin  Fairbanks,  1888;  Angus  H. 
McLeod,  1895.  Cashiers,  George  May,  1864;  John  C.  Clark, 
1883;  Homer  E.  Smith,  1893. 

"In  February  1886,  the  Steamer  W.  R.  Carter  blew  up  and 
burned  and  sank  in  the  Mississippi  River.  Three  years  later 
wreckage  was  recovered  from  the  bottom  of  the  river.  On 
March  20,  1869,  the  First  National  Bank  of  St.   Johnsbury,    Vt., 


458  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

George  May  Cashier,  redeemed  twenty-one  $5.00  bills  taken  from 
that  wreck.  In  some  of  the  bills  the  figures  were  identified  only 
as  blackened  cinders  pasted  on  the  paper. 

Merchants  National  Bank  The  increasing  importance 
of  Railroad  Street  as  a  business  center  led  to  the  organization  of 
the  Merchants  National  Bank,  which  began  business  September 
20,  1875,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000.  This  was  increased  in  1883 
to  $400,000  ;  in  1888,  a  reduction  was  made  to  $300,000,  and  in 
1905  a  further  reduction  to  $150,000,  at  which  the  capital  stock 
now  stands.  The  first  President  was  Col.  Frederick  Fletcher, 
1875 ;  his  successors  were  William  E.  Peck,  1885 ;  L.  D.  Hazen, 
1894;  H.  H.  Powers,  1896;  Elmore  T.  Ide,  1897;  Cashiers,  Wil- 
liam E.  Hazen,  William  S.  Streeter,  H.  W.  Allen,  Chas.  W. 
Ruiter. 

Business  was  begun  in  the  block  which  the  Bank  soon  after 
purchased ;  the  disastrous  fire  of  October  1892  took  this  building 
in  its  sweep ;  the  next  day  all  that  was  seen  was  the  bank  vault, 
which  stood  erect  and  uninjured  amidst  the  blackened  ruins. 
This  was  a  Morris  and  Ireland  Vault  with  double  granite  walls 
and  a  time  lock,  installed  at  an  expense  of  $6000 — the  contents 
suffered  no  injury  whatever  from  the  fire.  An  expert  was  brought 
from  Boston  who  undertook  to  move  this  vault  to  a  more  desir- 
able position ;  its  weight  was  roughly  estimated  at  5000  tons  ;  he 
lifted  it  bodily  from  its  bed,  moved  it  thirty  feet  south  then  thirty 
feet  east  to  where  it  now  stands  ;  and  over  it  was  erected  the 
new  Merchants  Bank  Block,  sixty  by  seventy-five  feet  dimensions, 
with  large  well  furnished  rooms  for  its  increasing  business.  The 
Banking  house  property  stands  at  $30,000  valuation ;  surplus 
and  undivided  profits  at  $85,729.38.  Since  1895  a  savings  bank 
department  has  been  in  operation. 

Citizens  Savings  Bank  In  a  small  room  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Avenue  House  Block,  the  Citizens  Savings  Bank  and  Trust 
Company  began  business  February  1,  1887,  John  T.  Ritchie, 
Treasurer.  The  capital  stock,  $50,000,  was  increased  January  1, 
1904,  by  a  stock  dividend  of  100  per  cent  to  $100,000  ;  again  by  a 
similar  dividend   May  1,  1911,  to  $200,000,  at  which  time  there 


UTILITIES  459 

was  also  a  surplus  and  profits  of  $80,000.  In  1893  this  Bank 
purchased  the  Ward  block  site  on  the  east  corner  of  the  Avenue, 
4400  square  feet  for  $12,000;  the  highest  price  per  foot  ever 
paid  for  land  in  the  town.  Additional  land  to  constitute  a  lot  of 
7000  square  feet  was  acquired  and  thereon  was  erected  the  large 
and  sightly  Citizens  Bank  Block,  75  by  90  feet  ground  dimen- 
sions, four  and  five  stories  high,  the  finest  business  block  in  the 
town.  The  Banking  Rooms  were  considered  the  best  in  the  state, 
spacious,  well  lighted  and  richly  furnished. 

This  building  was  gutted  by  fire  in  the  early  morning  of 
October  30,  1909.  The  outer  walls  stood  uninjured  ;  the  vault 
was  opened  the  same  day  and  everything  in  it  came  to  light  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  Reconstruction  was  immediately  begun, 
with  improvements  and  safety  devices  that  make  the  new  better 
than  the  old.  The  block  is  valued  at  about  $60,000.  The  Citi- 
zens Bank  has  had  but  one  Treasurer,  John  T.  Ritchie,  during  its 
quarter  century  of  business  ;  Presidents,  J.  G.  Hovey,  C.  M. 
Chase,  A.  L.  Bailey.  Deposits  at  the  end  of  the  first  year's  busi- 
ness, $127,697.61,  at  the  present  writing,  $3,322,161.66.  Surplus 
and  undivided  profits,  $117,504.31. 

THE  ELECTRIC   TELEGRAPH 

"We  had  letters  to  send.  Couriers  could  not  go  fast  enough,  nor  far 
enough — broke  their  wagons,  foundered  their  horses  ;  bad  roads  in  spring  ; 
snow  drifts  in  winter,  heat  in  summer— could  not  get  their  horses  out  of  a 
walk.  But  we  found  that  the  air  and  the  earth  were  full  of  electricity,  and 
always  going  our  way,  just  the  way  we  wanted  to  send.  Would  he  take  a 
message  for  us?  Just  as  lief  as  not,  had  nothing  else  to  do,  would  carry  it 
for  us  in  no  time."  Emerson 

In  1851,  within  a  year  after  the  opening  of  the  Passumpsic 
Railroad,  telegraph  wires  were  strung  into  the  town  by  the 
Boston  and  Vermont  Telegraph  Company.  This  was  about  nine 
years  after  Morse  had  succeeded  in  sending  messages  between 
Washington  and  Baltimore,  and  it  was  during  this  year  of  1851 
that  a  convention  of  deputies  from  different  nations  adopted  at 
Vienna  the  Morse  system  as  international.  The  terminus  of  the 
line  in  this  town  was  at  the  railroad  station  and  here  among   the 


460  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

first  dispatches  received  was  the  announcement  that  Franklin 
Pierce  had  been  elected  President.  This  bit  of  news  had  a  bad 
effect  on  Dr.  Calvin  Jewett,  a  whig  of  tremendous  convictions, 
who  was  seen  stalking  by  with  forceful  stride,  smiting  the  ground 
with  his  staff  as  if  to  stamp  out  the  dangerous  principles  of  the 
democratic  party  in  its  alliance  with  slavery. 

The  next  year  a  telegraph  office  was  opened  on  the  Plain  in 
the  old  Dr.  Stevens  house  where  the  brick  block  now  is ;  Camp's 
grocery  was  then  in  the  basement.  At  that  date  there  were  only 
two  lines  in  the  state,  one  from  Boston  via  White  River  and  Bur- 
lington to  Montreal,  the  other  to  St.  Johnsbury.  Col.  J.  W. 
Robinson,  who  kept  a  hat  store,  was  the  first  operator  on  the 
Plain.  At  that  time  there  was  great  enthusiasm  over  Louis 
Kossuth's  recent  arrival  in  this  country  and  among  the  interesting 
things  at  the  hat-store-tele  graph- office  were  the  popular  Kossuth 
hats  decorated  with  plumes,  the  first  one  of  which  was  promptly 
mounted  by  Henry  L.  Clapp,  who  thereby  became  a  hero  in  the 
eyes  of  the  younger  boys.  Robinson  had  an  unconscious  way  of 
humming  tunes  while  at  his  work  without  much  regard  to  melody 
or  tune ;  in  the  midst  of  which  one  Sunday  morning  a  friend  re- 
minded him  that  he  ought  not  to  be  sawing  wood  on  Sunday. 

The  Bain  system  of  telegraphy  was  the  one  in  use  at  that 
time,  messages  being  rendered  by  a  scheme  of  dots  on  a  circular 
disk.  There  was  a  fairly  good  opportunity  for  variation  in  the 
recording  of  messages.  Among  the  early  ones  sent  from  this 
office  was  an  order  for  a  keg  of  tripe  ;  as  taken  at  the  Boston 
office  it  read  cag  up  trip.  This  was  interpreted  to  mean — send  a 
cage  on  the  up-trip;  accordingly  the  bird  cage  arrived  on  the 
next  day  by  Cheney  and  Company  express,  up-trip. 

Major  Edward  D.  Redington  of  Chicago  when  introducing  a 
speaker  on  wireless  telegraphy  not  long  ago,  commented  on  the 
surprising  progress  made,  and  remarked  that  when  a  boy  he  had 
learned  the  wonderful  art  as  then  practised  in  the  little  office  at 
St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. — his  first  duty  each  morning  being  to  go  to 
the  basement  and  charge  the  battery.  "Where,"  said  the  speaker 
of  the  evening  jocosely,  "we  will  suppose  Major  Redington  first 
won  his  military  title  by  a  successful  charge  of  his  battery." 


UTILITIES  461 

Telegraphy  proved  a  boon  to  one  man  in  the  town.  H.  W. 
Brickett  lost  his  right  arm  ;  he  readily  mastered  the  art  of  oper- 
ating the  instrument  with  his  left  fingers,  and  a  year  or  two  later 
came  into  charge  of  the  orifice  and  continued  in  it  till  promoted  to 
a  position  in  the  city  of  Lowell.  In  1856  this  line  went  into  the 
hands  of  the  Western  Union. 

Coincident  with  the  construction  of  the  Portland  and  Ogdens- 
burg  R.  R.  was  the  formation  in  this  town,  1869,  of  an  independ- 
ent telegraph  company  known  as  the  Vermont  International, 
Franklin  Fairbanks,  President.  This  new  line  was  intended  to 
serve  the  new  road  and  the  region  traversed  by  it ;  the  towns  fur- 
nished and  set  the  poles,  the  company  strung  the  wires.  Pending 
the  completion  of  the  railroad  and  its  stations  the  offices  were  for 
several  years  set  up  in  stores  or  houses  in  charge  of  anyone  who 
would  attend  properly  to  the  business.  In  Bakersfield  a  woman 
of  seventy  years  learned  to  operate  and  had  the  office  in  a  small 
sleeping  room  adjoining  her  kitchen. 

In  1876  this  company  extended  its  lines  either  way  from  here 
to  Wells  River  and  from  Swanton  to  Canada  line  in  order  to 
operate  through  business  with  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Telegraph 
Company,  which,  the  very  next  year  was  absorbed  by  the  Wes- 
tern Union.  Since  that  date  while  retaining  its  independent 
organization,  it  has  operated  under  identical  rules  and  tariff  with 
the  Western  Union,  having  headquarters  at  its  St.  Johnsbury 
office.  For  thirty-one  years,  since  1883,  E.  A.  Silsby  has  been 
Superintendent. 

THE   TELEPHONE 

"Theodore  N.  Vail  persisted  in  spite  of  considerable  ridicule  in  main- 
taining that  the  telephone  was  destined  to  connect  cities  and  nations  as  well 
as  individuals.  When  the  Bell  Company  refused  to  build  a  line  from  Boston 
to  Providence,  he  himself  picked  up  the  risk  and  set  off  with  it  alone  ;  owing 
to  some  failure  at  first  it  went  by  the  name  of  Vail's  Folly." 

H.  H.  Casson 

Early  in  1877  it  was  reported  that  A.  C.  Harvey,  Superintend- 
ent of  the  International  Telegraph  Company,  was  going  to  intro- 
duce to  St.  Johnsbury  the  wonderful  new  invention  by  which 
people  could  talk  over  electric  wires.     On  the  twentieth  of  July 


462  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

that  year  announcement  was  made  in  The  Caledonian :  "The 
wonderful  telephone  has  come  ;  wires  are  stretched  between  C. 
C.  Bingham's  house  and  drug  store,  and  conversation  is  going 
on.  This  is  a  curiosity  that  will  repay  investigation."  Nine 
months  later  connection  was  made  between  the  drug  store  and 
doctors'  offices  and  real  business  began  to  be  done  over  the  tele- 
phone, tho  at  an  expense  above  the  reach  of  the  general  public. 

In  November,  1879,  a  transmitter  made  by  S.  H.  Brackett  of 
the  science  department  of  the  Academy  was  mounted  on  the  desk 
of  the  South  Church  pulpit,  thro  which  the  entire  service,  vocal 
and  musical,  was  distinctly  rendered  in  the  pastor's  house  on  Park 
street.  It  happened  that  the  sermon  that  morning  was  on  the 
theme  of  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  and  occasional  references 
to  the  graphic  imagery  of  the  Apocalypse  coming  over  the  wire 
with  a  weird  and  far-off  effect  seemed  like  new  announcements 
sounding  down  from  another  world.  This  conveyance  of  a  church 
service  over  telephone  wires  attracted  wide  attention  ;  it  was  re- 
ported by  the  press  all  over  the  country,  and  gave  to  St.  Johns- 
bury  apparent  priority  in  this  particular  application  of  the  won- 
derful new  invention.  The  Brackett  telephone  however  was 
adjudged  an  infringement  on  the  Bell  patent  and  was  thereafter 
withdrawn. 

A  telephone  exchange  was  installed  in  1880  by  C.  C.  Bing- 
ham in  the  corner  of  his  office,  which  he  operated  under  the 
original  Bell  Telephone  Company  ;  he  held  the  rights  for  Cale- 
donia county.  Prominent  citizens  at  that  time  doubted  its  prac- 
ticability and  were  slow  to  take  it  up,  but  its  value  to  the  doctors 
was  so  evident  that  by  the  second  year  there  were  35  patrons  on 
the  exchange,  the  annual  expense  at  that  date  being  $25  to  each 
subscriber.  Mr.  Bingham  constructed  a  line  to  Newport,  another 
to  Bradford  and  operated  the  entire  system  for  some  years  under 
the  New  England  Telephone  Company ;  it  was  not  very  long  be- 
fore he  was  talking  with  Montpelier,  Burlington,  Sherbrooke, 
Concord,  N.  H.  On  the  first  day  of  May,  1907,  the  Passumpsic 
Telephone  Company  was  organized  and  took  over  property 
valued  at  $150,000  which  yielded  $4514.98  net  earnings  the  first 
year.     Meantime  the   Citizens    Company   organized  in   1900  by 


UTILITIES  463 

Manager  Buzzell  connecting  towns  east  and  west  had  been  in  suc- 
cessful operation,  and  its  lines  were  absorbed  in  1912  by  the 
Passumpsic  Company  for  $41,250,  whose  property  then  stood  at  a 
valuation  of  $336,217.87,  on  which  there  was  earned  the  first  year 
a  net  income  of  $11,163.09.  Important  and  costly  improvements 
were  made  the  next  year,  including  removal  of  the  poles  and 
laying  an  underground  system  of  wires  along  the  principal  streets 
of  the  village.  In  1914  there  were  1553  telephones  operating  in 
the  town. 

wireless  The  first  wireless  received  in  the  town  was  a 
marconigram  from  John  W.  Titcomb  to  his  wife  dispatched  June 
7,  1904  in  mid-ocean  from  the  Red  Star  liner  Vaterland.  In 
November,  1910,  Herbert  Dean  Pearl  installed  a  wireless  apparatus 
on  a  Park  street  house  roof  which  has  rendered  messages  from 
points  as  far  distant  as  Key  West  and  Colon ;  it  also  regularly 
records  the  noon  hour  from  the  government  station  at  Arlington, 
Virginia.  This  instrument  is  30  feet  long  and  75  feet  from  the 
ground.  Leon  Dimick,  Corcell  Stuart  and  others  have  similar 
lines  of  their  own  construction,  and  a  more  recent  one  owned  by 
H.  W.  Randall  is  conspicuous  on  the  roof  of  the  brick  block  at 
the  head  of  Eastern  Avenue.  Signals  are  now  caught  from  ships 
far  out  at  sea  and  by  a  system  of  relays  contact  will  soon  be 
made  with  the  Pacific  coast. 

^  STREET  LIGHTING 

Hand  lanterns  did  what  they  could  to  lighten  the  evening 
path  for  about  ninety  years.  Originally  these  were  of  the  punch- 
ed tin  variety  with  a  tallow  dip  inside  and  later  a  whale  oil  con- 
tainer; then  came  the  kerosene  oil  lantern.  In  1867,  a  street  lan- 
tern mounted  on  a  pole  was  set  up  by  Richard  Cook  front  of  the 
express  office  near  the  head  of  Eastern  Avenue.  Then  David 
Silsby  erected  one  front  of  his  clothing  store  on  Railroad  street, 
and  soon  after  Howard  and  Rowell  had  one  up  at  the  corner  of 
Main  street  and  Eastern  Avenue.  These  and  possibly  some 
others  were  after  a  while  taken  over  by  the  village  corporation, 
and  others  were  added,  till  some  time  during  the  seventies  there 
were  110  kerosene  oil  lights  on  the  streets.    The  lamps  were  gauged 


464  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

to  run  to  a  given  hour  and  then  die  out ;  an  exception  would  now 
and  then  occur,  so  that  after  some  bright  moonlight  night  a  lamp 
or  two  might  be  seen  resolutely  delivering  its  illumination  till  the 
middle  of  the  next  forenoon.  In  1880  the  lamps  were  lighting 
fifteen  streets  running  from  the  Advent  church  to  the  Fairbanks 
village  school  house  and  the  ox  barns  on  Danville  road.  This 
gave  Uriah  Elliott  a  seven»-mile  trip  in  two  sections,  one  at  candle- 
light to  start  the  lamps,  one  at  bed  time  to  put  them  out.  The 
expense  that  year  was  $447  ;  in  1888  it  was  $695.35  of  which  $101 
was  for  oil  and  the  balance  gave  Levi  Harlow,  the  lamplighter, 
consideration  for  the  necessary  tramping,  trimming  and  care  of 
the  lamps. 

That  year  electricity  was  introduced  and  in  March,  1889, 
thirty-five  poles  were  erected  and  the  arc  light  system  installed  at 
the  rate  of  $65  per  year  for  each  arc,  burning  till  midnight.  The 
expense  of  street  lighting  for  the  year  1889,  three  months  oil  and 
nine  months  voltaic  arcs,  was  $1189.63,  for  1890,  arcs  wholly,  it 
was  $2101.70.  In  1912  there  were  100  arc  lights  doing  all  night 
service  at  $60  each  for  the  year.  Both  the  East  and  Center  Vil- 
lages and  the  main  road  to  the  latter  are  electric  lighted. 

FIRE   ALARM   AND   TRUCKS 

During  the  old-time  fire  engine  period  general  alarms  were 
rung  from  the  belfries,  engines  were  pulled  up  to  position,  attach- 
ment made  to  cisterns  and  inadequate  fire  streams  pumped  on  to 
the  blazing  buildings.  After  the  aqueduct  mains  had  been  laid 
with  hydrants  for  heavier  hose,  a  new  bell  of  2100  pounds  weight 
was  hung  in  the  Methodist  church  tower  on  Central  street.  The 
village  trustees  paid  $100  for  the  right  to  attach  to  this  bell  a  fire 
alarm  of  modern  construction  with  six  alarm  boxes.  This  was  in 
1875  and  the  next  year  seventy  hydrants  were  set  up  on  the  vil- 
lage water  system  fed  by  the  Flanders  pump.  That  fire  bell  did 
service  for  twenty  years,  till  in  1895  the  Gamewell  alarm  system 
was  installed  with  a  heavy  bell  owned  by  the  village  in  the  Court 
House  tower,  and  two  smaller  ones  in  Paddock  and  Fairbanks 
villages.  There  were  24  boxes  and  six  gongs  on  the  line ;  the 
expense  was  $2403.82. 


UTILITIES  465 

trucks  The  village  trustees  were  empowered  in  January, 
1912,  after  several  years  of  fruitless  agitation  and  debate,  to  ex- 
pend not  exceeding  $7500  for  the  purchase  of  a  combination  auto- 
matic fire-truck  carrying  chemicals.  A  central  station  which  had 
also  been  authorized,  was  built  on  Eastern  Avenue,  and  in  Au- 
gust that  year  the  new  machine,  American-LaFrance  pattern,  was 
installed.  It  was  a  seventy-horse-power  truck  carrying  an  equip- 
ment of  two  chemical  tanks,  total  capacity  of  seventy  gallons,  400 
feet  of  chemical  hose,  extension  and  roof  ladders,  and  1000  feet 
of  standard  fire  hose.  Under  the  hand  of  demonstrator  Ruggles 
of  Elmira  its  clangorous  racket,  bright  red  dress  and  swift  agile 
action  made  a  sensation  on  the  streets.  It  took  25  men  across 
the  Plain  at  47  miles  per  hour,  made  the  twist  up  Sand  Hill  at  12 
miles  and  the  slope  of  Eastern  Avenue  at  45  miles  speed. 

The  superiority  of  this  machine  was  soon  and  often  tested, 
its  prompt  arrival  and  efficiency  at  the  point  of  need  has  averted 
more  than  one  impending  disaster.  In  January,  1914,  the  village 
took  additional  measures  for  protection  by  voting  $6000  for  a 
hook  and  ladder  automatic  truck  and  $2500  for  the  establishment 
of  a  telegraph  police  and  fire  service.  This  new  truck,  the  first 
motor-driven  ladder  truck  in  Vermont,  takes  the  place  of  one 
which  had  done  good  old-fashioned  service  for  twenty  years. 
Like  its  mate,  the  chemical  truck,  it  is  at  maximum  a  seventy 
horse-power  machine,  with  rather  more  than  twice  its  length  of 
wheel  base,  viz.,  twenty  feet  five  inches,  entire  length  42  feet.  It 
carries  eight  ladders  of  212  feet  extension,  also  a  forty  gallon 
chemical  tank  and  220  feet  of  hose,  a  life  net,  and  all  modern 
appliances.  Four  men  are  housed  at  the  Central  station  caring 
for  the  machines  and  ready  on  the  instant  of  alarm  to  put  them  at 
work. 

In  1895  the  Center  Village  Fire  District  was  incorporated  and 
built  the  Firemen's  Hall  near  the  river;  the  town  the  same  year 
appropriated  $200  toward  the  purchase  of  a  new  engine  which 
was  named  the  Torrent.  Five  years  later  the  same  amount  was 
appropriated  toward  the  equipment  of  a  fire  station  and  company 
at  the  East  Village.  At  the  present  time  the  main  reliance  for 
protection  is  on  the  new  trucks  at  the  central  fire  station. 


466  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

DIRECTORIES 

The  first  village  directory  was  published  in  1875  by  W.  S. 
Webb  of  New  York  and  was  sold  for  half  a  dollar.  There  were 
26  pages  of  names  including  Summerville.  At  that  date  there 
were  no  house  numbers  ;  an  approximate  designation  was  all 
that  could  be  given,  as  : — 

Poland  Luke  P  Prospect  St  off  Main 

Hall  Emerson  Main  St  off  Court  House 

Mackinnon  Robert  clerk  Main  near  Hotel 

Paddock  John  H  Church  Cor  Summer 

Fairbanks  Horace  W  Ave  opp  Belvidere 

The  next  directory  was  issued  by  the  same  publishers  in 
1881.  By  this  time  the  telephone  had  obtained  a  residence  in 
Bingham's  drug  store,  and  the  names  of  34  subscribers  appear : 
the  telephone  rates  were  then  from  $20  to  $30  a  year. 

The  directory  of  1883  was  a  home  product,  published  by  H. 
B.  Davis  and  Jesse  Gage  of  the  Caledonian  Press.  House 
numbers  had  at  this  date  been  mounted  on  the  principal  streets, 
and  this  gave  added  value  to  the  lists  of  residents.  Names  of  all 
persons  over  ten  years  of  age  were  given;  of  these  some  one  in- 
terested in  feminine  names  discovered  that  215  were  answering 
to  the  name  of  Mary.     Summerville  made  a  separate  list. 

Successive  editions  of  this  directory  were  issued  from  the 
same  press  in  1885-89-91-93-95-97  and  in  1901  Dennis  May  pub- 
lished a  village  and  town  directory.  The  Union  Publishing  Com- 
pany of  Boston  in  1897  brought  out  a  directory  of  this  and  five 
neighboring  towns,  and  beginning  with  1905  has  issued  a  revised 
edition  of  the  same  every  other  year  to  the  present  time.  This 
is  a  work  of  about  333  pages,  the  price  of  which  is  $2.50,  and  it 
includes  the  towns  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Barnet,  Concord,  Danville, 
Kirby,  Lyndon,  Waterford. 

UNITED  STATES  FISHERIES  STATION 

"Master  Corcuelo  told  me  he  had  an  excellent  trout,  but  those  who 
would  eat  him  must  pay  for  him— to  which  I  made  answer  that  the  best  fish 
would  not  be  too  good  for  the  renowned  Gil  Bias  of  Santillane." 

The  Legislature  of  Vermont  in  1890  appropriated  funds  for  a 
state  fish  hatchery  which  in  due  time  was  established  in  the  town 


FISHERIES  467 

of  Roxbury.  Congress,  recognizing  the  practical  interest  thus 
manifested  by  the  state,  followed  it  by  an  appropriation  of  $15,000 
for  a  Government  Fisheries  Station.  The  inspection  of  various 
suggested  sites  resulted  in  the  choice  of  St.  Johnsbury,  which 
had  been  warmly  recommended  by  Congressman  Grout.  The 
spot  selected  was  at  the  Emerson  Falls  where  Sleeper's  River 
comes  foaming  down  the  long  rock  ledge  making  in  high  water 
the  finest  cascade  in  the  town.  The  dam  diverting  the  water  flow 
at  the  head  of  the  falls  was  constructed  in  1893,  and  during  the 
following  year  buildings  were  erected  on  the  reservation  and  the 
culture  of  lake  trout  was  begun.  John  W.  Titcomb  who  had  been 
appointed  superintendent  of  construction  and  of  management 
continued  in  charge  of  the  station  nearly  ten  years,  till  his  promo- 
tion in  1902  to  the  Bureau  of  Fisheries  in  Washington.  His  suc- 
cessor, Edgar  N.  Carter,  was  transferred  in  1912  to  a  station  in 
Georgia,  and  Albert  H.  Dinsmore,  who  had  for  several  years  been 
in  charge  of  the  government  salmon  fisheries  of  the  Puget  Sound 
region,  was  made  superintendent  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Station. 
Subsidiary  to  this  are  two  other  stations,  one  at  Swanton  for 
propagating  varieties  of  perch  from  Lake  Champlain,  one  at 
Holden  for  trout,  in  charge  of  Miltimore  E.  Merrill  who  was  fifteen 
years  in  this  hatchery. 

About  two  million  brook  trout  are  handled  here  annually,  and 
among  other  varieties  of  fish,  the  land-locked  salmon  and  small- 
mouthed  black  bass.  Distributions  of  eggs,  fry  and  fingerlings 
up  to  two  inches  long,  are  made  to  all  the  New  England  states 
and  New  York.  The  latest  yearly  summary  of  fish  raised  and 
distributed  under  direction  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  superintendent 
is  as  follows : 


Species 

Eggs 

Fry 

Fingerlings 

Total 

Brook  Trout 

205,000 

1,548,707 

384,318 

2,138,025 

I^ake  Trout 

16.000 

36,000 

52,000 

Steelhead  Trout 

80,860 

80,860 

landlocked  Salmon 

21,525 

21,525 

Black  Bass 

33,000 

3,150 

36,150 

Pike  Perch 

20,225,000 

58,100,000 

78,325  000 

Yellow  Perch 

10.000,000 

10,000,000 

Total 

90,653,560 

468  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

The  process  and  stages  of  fish  culture  are  of  special  interest 
in  the  spring-  when  the  eggs  are  hatching  and  the  fry  are  in  the 
swimming  school  aspiring  to  become  fmgerlings  ;  visitors  may- 
see  them  any  week  day  between  eight  and  four  o'clock.  The  es- 
tablishment is  controlled  by  the  National  Bureau  of  Fisheries, 
department  of  commerce  and  labor. 

MODERN    CEMETERIES 

mount  pleasant  Some  while  before  the  question  of  a 
site  for  the  Court  House  had  arisen  it  was  evident  that  the 
old  grave  yard  of  sixty  years  ago  had  reached  the  limit  of 
its  capacity  and  of  its  good  standing  in  the  community. 
The  time  had  come  for  more  suitable  and  spacious  grounds 
and  public  sentiment  was  ripe  for  more  adequate  supervision 
than  the  town  was  was  likely  to  render.  Responsible  persons 
accordingly  secured  an  act  of  incorporation,  and  on  May  20, 
1851,  the  St.  Johnsbury  Cemetery  Association  was  organized, 
James  K.  Colby,  President,  Ephraim  Jewett,  Secretary.  The 
charter  provided  for  an  issue  of  100  shares  at  $6  a  share ; 
of  these  97  shares  were  taken  by  78  subscribers,  including 
nearly  all  the  principal  citizens  of  the  Plain  and  vicinity.  The 
name  adopted  was  Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery.  The  shares  of 
original  stock  having  been  applied  to  starting  the  enterprise,  no 
more  were  issued  and  since  then  there  have  been  no  stockholders. 

In  May,  1852,  a  tract  of  eight  acres  was  purchased  of  Lam- 
bert Hastings  for  $450,  which  included  the  portion  now  lying 
nearest  the  gateway,  and  later  the  same  season  a  strip  was  an- 
nexed from  Ephraim  Jewett's  pasture  adjoining  the  highway 
farther  up.  During  the  next  summer  additional  land  to  the  north- 
ward was  acquired  of  Lambert  Hastings.  Seven  men  purchased 
lots  appraised  at  $1814  and  from  that  time  on  the  increasing  de- 
mand has  necessitated  successive  enlargements  of  the  grounds. 

The  situation  was  felicitious  in  every  particular ;  being  ele- 
vated, dry,  easily  accessible ;  its  slopes  and  levels  adapted  to 
artistic  treatment,  commanding  wide  and  varied  landscape 
views.  In  1875,  it  was  said  by  a  writer  in  the  Lowell  Citizen  that 
"Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery  is  among  the  best  in  New  England 


CEMETERIES  469 

outside  suburban  districts ;  commanding  hill  and  dale,  lawn  and 
woodland  in  happy  combination,  and  has  a  natural  observatory 
from  the  summit  with  charming  outlook  over  the  town,  the  river, 
the  mountains  and  the  verdant  valley  of  the  Passumpsic."  The 
grounds  were  laid  out  under  direction  of  J.  H.  Sackett,  landscape 
architect,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  in  the  spring  of  1853  ;  the  dedi- 
catory services  were  held  on  the  second  day  of  June  that  year, 
including  scripture  readings,  prayer  of  dedication  and  address  by 
Rev.  W.  B.  Bond. 

At  the  sale  of  lots  in  1853  the  first  choice  was  bid  by  Ephraim 
Jewett  and  at  his  death  in  1866  he  left  $100  for  the  perpetual  care 
of  his  family  lot.  This  suggested  the  desirability  of  a  permanent 
fund  for  this  purpose  which  it  was  hoped  might  reach  $3000  or  more. 
The  next  year  $500  was  offered  by  one  of  the  Trustees  for  this 
fund  ;  before  1890  it  had  reached  $3006  as  originally  hoped  for  ; 
in  1900  it  was  $5700  and  in  1912  it  had  increased  to  $22,710  mostly 
in  sums  ranging  from  $50  to  $200.  The  Trustees  are  obligated 
to  apply  the  income  from  these  sums  to  the  perpetual  care  of  the 
lots  so  endowed,  keeping  the  principal  intact  and  securely  in- 
vested. The  general  expense  of  upkeep  and  improvement  of  the 
Cemetery  is  met  by  the  sale  of  lots.  The  Association  is  com- 
posed of  lot-owners  who  choose  to  be  enrolled  as  members  ;  at 
the  annual  meeting  in  May  seven  Trustees  are  appointed  who 
serve  without  remuneration,  charged  with  the  administration  of 
funds,  property  and  general  management ;  there  are  no  profits  to 
any  one. 

The  acreage  was  doubled  in  1888  by  the  inclusion  of  the 
large  tract  north  and  east,  in  addition  to  the  recently  acquired 
pasture  extending  to  the  Hastings  Hill  road.  Ten  years  later  the 
Lodge  was  built  as  a  residence  for  the  Superintendent.  A  re- 
ceiving vault  and  pavilion  was  constructed  by  E.  &  T.  Fairbanks 
&  Co.  in  1870  at  an  expense  of  $2955  ;  an  additional  sum  of  $2^00 
was  expended  upon  it  in  1907,  when  it  was  rebuilt,  enlarged  and 
modernized,  and  later  the  steel  fence  on  the  highway  was  erected. 
William  C.  Arnold  was  Superintendent  15  years  from  1856,  Wil- 
liam Green  20  years  from  1871,  A.  D.  Nelson  four  years  till   his 


470  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

death  in  1896,  Alfred  Guild  13  years  till  1911,  and  S.  D.  Atwood 
since  that  date. 

Not  long  after  the  opening  of  Mount  Pleasant  two  of  the 
active  incorporators  were  carried  to  their  burial,  Dr.  Calvin 
Jewett  and  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks ;  the  shapely  marble  block  at  the 
grave  of  the  latter  was  a  noticeable  variation  on  the  old  uniform 
style  of  upright  headstones.  Near  by  is  the  rocky  knoll  sug- 
gestive of  the  ancient  Machpelah,  where  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  the 
patriarch  of  the  town,  received  burial  in  1887,  after  many  years  of 
valuable  service  to  the  cemetery  as  its  president.  Near  the  center 
of  the  original  grounds  is  the  granite  shaft  raised  by  the  trustees 
and  alumni  of  the  Academy  to  the  honored  memory  of  Principal 
Colby.  A  massive  block  of  granite  near  the  west  highway  marks 
the  lot  of  Judge  Poland ;  a  few  steps  above  it  is  the  upright 
marble  stone  that  carries  the  name  of  Jonathan  Arnold ;  the 
height  of  land  is  crowned  with  a  group  of  artistic  monuments  and 
sculptured  figures.  The  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  cemetery 
is  the  granite  obelisk  of  the  Ide  family  erected  in  1893,  a  mono- 
lith of  35  tons  that  rises  32  feet  from  its  base.  Near  this  is  the 
lot  presented  by  the  Association  in  1886  to  the  Grand  Army  vet- 
erans, who  placed  upon  it  the  figure  of  the  soldier  with  his  rifle. 
Along  the  entire  stretch  of  this  newer  part  of  the  cemetery  are 
sunny  terraces  adorned  with  shrubbery  and  stones  of  tasteful 
design  and  finish. 

forest  grove,  east  village  This  property  is  held  by 
the  Association  of  that  name,  organized  in  1857.  The  trustees 
purchased  the  grounds  for  $600  giving  their  personal  notes  there- 
for. The  old  burial  ground  was  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  as  one 
enters  the  village  from  the  west ;  removals  from  this  spot  to  the 
new  grounds  were  immediately  made,  a  receiving  vault  was  con- 
structed and  $300  expended  for  a  village  hearse.  Family  monu- 
ments costing  ten  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  have  been  erected ; 
there  is  a  good  water  supply  brought  down  194  rods  from  a  clear 
spring.  The  location  is  well  chosen,  near  the  town  line  adjoining 
Kirby,  overlooking  Moose  River  with  glimpses  of  the  village 
lower  down. 


CEMETERIES  471 

ST.  johnsbury  center  cemetery  Under  this  name  the 
Association  was  formed  in  1864,  empowered  to  hold  nine  acres. 
The  Act  was  amended  in  1906  allowing  ownership  of  fifty  acres 
and  other  property  to  the  amount  of  $20,000.  It  was  also  made 
possible  to  assess  a  lot  tax  not  exceeding  $3  any  one  year  upon 
lot  proprietors  for  the  purchase  of  additional  grounds,  improving 
and  embellishing  the  same  and  defraying  necessary  expense  of 
care  and  management.  A  receiving  vault  was  constructed,  and 
there  were  some  removals  from  the  old  church  yard.  This  ceme- 
tery is  well  cared  for  and  is  finely  situated  half  a  mile  above  the 
village  on  a  pleasant  slope  looking  down  on  the  valley  of  the  Pas- 
sumpsic. 

mount  calvary  cemetery  The  first  Catholic  burial  place 
was  on  the  steep  hillside  between  Caledonia  street  and  the  river. 
In  1863,  a  stranger  standing  on  the  platform  of  the  passenger 
station  remarked  on  the  pleasing  appearance  of  the  spot,  the  ter- 
races, with  green  fronts  rising  one  above  another  on  which  were 
the  beds  where  sleep  the  dead.  The  place  however  was  too  con- 
tracted and  otherwise  not  suitable.  The  site  for  a  new  cemetery 
was  accordingly  secured,  including  most  of  the  old  Fair  Grounds 
of  1855,  on  the  plain  above  Paddock  Village.  To  this  place  in 
October,  1876,  went  a  procession  of  1500  people  from  Notre  Dame 
church,  led  by  the  cross  bearer,  acolytes  and  school  children  for 
the  dedication  service.  The  address  in  French  was  given  by  Rev. 
C.  A.  Beaudien  of  Montreal,  in  English  by  Rev.  Father  Boisson- 
nault.  To  the  memory  of  the  latter,  revered  for  his  35  years' 
ministry  in  Notre  Dame  parish,  a  memorial  was  erected  in  the 
center  of  the  grounds  in  1911.  A  group  of  figures  represents  the 
Virgin  Mother  and  St.  John  with  the  kneeling  Magdalene,  above 
which  rises  to  a  height  of  22  feet  the  figure  of  the  Saviour  on  the 
cross.  The  service  of  dedication  was  impressive,  held  on  Mem- 
orial Day  in  the  presence  of  2000  people.  The  bronze  figures 
were  brought  from  France. 

Of  the  fifteen  revolutionary  soldiers  who  were  among  the 
early  settlers  of  the  town,  one  lies  in  Forest  Grove,  four  in  the 
enclosure  above  Goss  Hollow,   five   in  the  two    Center   Village 


472  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

grounds,  six  in  Mount  Pleasant.  In  1910  the  number  buried  in 
this  town  who  had  participated  in  the  five  several  wars  was  204; 
of  whom  118  were  in  the  armies  of  the  civil  war.  The  graves  of 
all  alike  are  marked  with  flags  and  with  the  special  honors  of  Dec- 
oration Day. 

The  area  of  Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery  grounds  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  about  fifty  acres. 

CEMETERY 

The  word  is  significant  and  historically  interesting.  The 
early  Christians  were  accustomed  to  think  of  death  as  a  sleep 
and  of  the  place  of  burial  as  a  coemeterium,  that  is  a  place 
of  sleep,  of  repose  and  rest  in  God.  It  was  brightened  with  in- 
scriptions of  hope  and  cheer  from  the  New  Testament.  The 
cemeterial  eels  of  the  ancient  Christians,  said  Sir  Thomas  Browne, 
were  filled  with  draughts  of  Scripture.  This,  as  well  as  the  for- 
mal dedication  and  the  memory  of  sainted  lives  combined  to  make 
the  place  of  burial  hallowed  in  popular  thought  and  in  literature. 

"In  the  holie  grounds  called  the  Semitory 
Hard  by  the  place  where  Kynge  Arthur  was  founde." 


XXXIV 


BUSINESS  NOTES 


Brief  notes  are  here  given  relating  to  industry  and  trade  subsequent  to 
the  period  covered  by  the  earlier  narrative  ;  it  is  not  possible  to  include  all 
that  might  well  merit  attention  ;  space  is  given  to  some  that  have  attained 
long  standing  or  considerable  proportions  or  a  bit  of  novelty. 


hoes  and  forks  The  Moose  River  Works,  so  called,  estab- 
lished in  1848  by  Geo.  W.  Ely,  were  founded  on  the  earlier 
manufacture  of  hoes  and  forks  by  the  Fairbanks  Brothers  prior  to 
1830,  when  such  articles  were  hammered  out  by  hand  on  the 
anvil.  The  business  as  carried  on  and  perfected  by  the  Ely 
family  has  had  an  honorable  history  of  66  years  and  its  products 
are  widely  distributed  throughout  the  country.  Garden  and  farm 
implements  of  many  varieties  are  brought  out  thro  a  process  of 
trip-hammering,  rolling,  plating,  tempering,  grinding,  polishing, 
mounting.  Formerly  two  car-loads  a  year  of  Nova  Scotia  grind- 
stones were  used  up  in  the  works,  these  have  been  superseded  by 
a  new  process  of  forging  developed  in  this  factory  and  now  gen- 
erally adopted  elsewhere.  As  many  as  a  thousand  tools  may  be 
produced  in  a  day,  they  are  noted  for  shapeliness  and  durability 
and  have  won  many  premiums.  In  1868  they  were  awarded  first 
prizes  at  the  state  fairs  of  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Kansas, 
Iowa  and  Missouri ;  at  the  latter  tests  were  made  that  called  out 
the  following  paragraph  in  the  Daily  Herald: 

"We  do  not  know  but  St.  Johnsbury  will  become  as  famous  for  its  hoes 
and  forks  as  for  its  platform  scales.  In  Agricultural  Hall  we  saw  the  exhibit- 
or of  the  Ely  forks  stick  the  tines  into  a  board  and  literally  twist  them  one 
over  the  other  like  a  string,  as  soon  as  released  they  would  fly  back   to  the 


474  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

original  position.  He  also  put  the  tines  under  heavy  weights  to  straighten 
them  out,  after  which  they  instantly  came  back  to  their  correct  curve.  Hoes 
were  tested  in  the  same  way,  sticking  the  blade  into  a  board  and  bending  it 
back  almost  to  a  semi-circle  but  without  the  least  injury.  These  are  without 
exception  the  best  articles  of  the  kind  we  have  ever  seen;  they  are  the  con- 
stant wonder  and  admiration  of  the  crowds  who  gather  to  see  them  tested." 

The  principal  distribution  has  been  in  New  England  and  vi- 
cinity, but  in  remote  parts  of  this  country  as  well  as  in  Europe, 
South  America  and  other  foreign  lands  these  St.  Johnsbury  im- 
plements are  doing  their  good  share  of  the  world's  work.  Fire 
destroyed  the  factory  in  1859,  again  in  1895,  but  new  and  better 
buildings  were  immediately  erected.  In  1893,  the  power  was  re- 
inforced by  a  new  dam  and  steam  engine  of  fifty-horse  power, 
and  in  1905  an  electric  current  of  a  hundred-horse  power  was  in- 
stalled. The  Ely  company,  of  which  Henry  G.  Ely  has  been  for 
35  years  president,  was  taken  over  in  1902  by  the  American  Fork 
and  Hoe  company  with  principal  offices  at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  This 
corporation  has  a  capital  of  $4,800,000,  it  embraces  a  dozen  dif- 
ferent factories  and  controls  a  considerable  part  of  the  present 
output  in  the  country. 

grain  and  milling  business  The  McLeod  Mills  On  the 
spot  where  Jonathan  Arnold  put  up  the  first  grist  mill  in  1787, 
was  the  old  brown  mill  built  by  Capt.  James  Ramsey  in  1817  and 
rebuilt  in  1842,  subsequently  owned  and  operated  by  W.  D.  Rob- 
inson, and  finally  purchased  in  1871  by  Angus  H.  McLeod  of 
Ottawa.  He  increased  the  plant  from  three  to  six  run  of  stones 
and  the  storage  capacity  from  2000  to  20,000  bushels,  erecting 
new  buildings  with  modern  machinery  and  fixtures.  Within  ten 
years  the  annual  business  rose  to  $70,000  with  an  annual  freight 
expense  of  $18,000  ;  the  facilities  were  such  that  a  car-load  of 
grain  could  be  unloaded,  ground  and  reloaded  in  half  a  day.  At 
that  time  the  grinding  and  marketing  of  western  corn  and  wheat 
was  the  principal  feature  of  the  business ;  owing  to  new  pro- 
cesses adopted  in  the  western  mills  this  was  finally  discontinued 
and  entire  attention  given  to  the  manufacture  of  feeds. 

The  McLeod  Milling  Company,  incorporated  1893  with  capital 
of  $55,000,  was  purchased  by  the  Brooks  Brothers  in  1910,  Jonas 


BUSINESS  NOTES  475 

H.  Brooks,  president;  there  is  an  annual  marketing  of  feeds 
amounting  to  40,000  tons.  Elevator  A  has  tour  floors  of  60  by 
102  feet  with  capacity  for  25,000  bushels  of  grain  ;  there  are  five 
grinding  rolls  fed  by  water  from  a  nine-foot  head  which  will  grind 
2000  bushels  a  day.  Elevator  B  has  a  floor  space  of  29,000  square 
feet  and  will  accommodate  135  carloads  of  grain,  about  2000  tons; 
the  flag  staff  carries  the  flag  95  feet  from  the  ground.  This  es- 
tablishment has  an  element  of  interest  as  showing  on  the  identi- 
cal spot  the  evolution  of  the  first  mill  that  ground  corn  in  the 
town  a  century  and  a  quarter  ago. 

The  Ide  Mills  In  1879  St.  Johnsbury  became  headquarters 
of  the  flour  milling  business  established  1813  at  Passumpsic  Vil- 
lage by  Timothy  Ide,  continued  by  his  son  Jacob  and  by  his 
grandson  Elmore  T.  Ide,  who  became  manager  in  1861.  In  1866 
the  partnership  of  E.  T.  and  H.  K.  Ide  was  formed  with  $50,000 
capital,  and  this  management  continued  till  the  death  of  the  latter 
in  1897.  The  tract  of  about  three  acres,  partly  swamp  land  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  mill  pond,  was  acquired,  reclaimed  and  connected 
by  the  new  Bay  street  with  Eastern  avenue  and  Portland  street  ; 
this  provided  ample  ground  for  new  buildings.  The  mill  at  Pas- 
sumpsic having  burned  a  new  one  was  purchased  at  Lyndon  Falls. 
This  presently  met  the  same  fate,  after  which  those  water  priv- 
ileges were  sold  and  a  large  new  mill  was  built  on  Bay  street  in 
1906,  also  a  circular  corn  bin  of  12,000  bushels  capacity.  The 
elevator  building  previously  erected  stands  50  feet  high  with  four 
floors  of  50  by  80  feet,  adjoining  it  is  a  coal  plant  with  pockets 
into  which  1500  tons  of  coal  may  be  dumped  from  the  cars.  The 
old  Passumpsic  water  privilege  which  cost  $1200  in  1813  was  sold 
to  the  Electric  Company  for  $15,000,  and  from  that  place,  three 
miles  down  the  river,  power  is  now  delivered  at  the  Ide  mill  on 
Bay  Street  thro  seven  electric  motors  132  horse  power.  There 
are  in  the  building  three  roller  mills  each  three  pair  high,  three 
attrition  mills,  eight  grain  elevators,  automatic  power  shovel, 
automatic  weighing  machine  and  all  modern  equipments,  making 
it  possible  to  grind  3000  bushels  of  grain  per  day,  and  to  store 
30,000  bushels  of  bulk  grain  and  1000  tons  of  sacked  flour  and 
feed.      This  is  the  only  business  in  the  town  which  has  been  con- 


476  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

tinuously  in  one  family  for  the  period  of  a  century,  viz.,  66  years 
in  Passumpsic,  34  years  in  St.  Johnsbury. 

Griswold  and  Mackinnon  The  first  wholesale  establishment 
in  the  town  was  opened  in  1850  by  Ephraim  Chamberlin  in  the 
building  50  by  100  feet  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Swift 
Brothers  just  north  of  the  passenger  station.  Grain,  flour, 
hardware,  oils  and  other  commodities  were  dealt  in  and  the  busi- 
ness was  a  large  and  profitable  one.  From  1860  till  1878  it  was 
owned  and  conducted  by  Joel  Fletcher  and  his  sons,  then  by  Gris- 
wold and  Mackinnon  and  Pearl ;  but  meantime  the  hardware  de- 
partment had  been  purchased  by  William  Wilder.  Fire  destroyed 
the  old  building  in  1892,  and  the  new  Griswold-Mackinnon  ware- 
house for  handling  grain  was  erected  on  upper  Railroad  street. 
This  is  a  building  of  four  floors  equipped  with  elevator  and  hop- 
per bins  and  with  the  annex  has  a  mill  capacity  of  1500  tons  of 
grain.  The  mixing  plant  handles  two  carloads  of  grain  per  day, 
and  the  annual  business  approximates  a  million  dollars.  Mr. 
Mackinnon's  connection  with  the  business  covers  41  years. 

That  three  large  wholesale  grain  establishments  planted 
within  half  a  mile  of  each  other  should  be  carrying  on  for 
so  many  years  a  constantly  growing  and  profitable  business 
amounting  collectively  to  as  much  as  three  million  dollars,  is  an 
unusual  circumstance  ;  it  certifies  to  a  high  order  of  business 
management  and  makes  St.  Johnsbury  the  leading  grain  distribut- 
ing center  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

iron  works  The  blast  furnace  and  iron  works  founded  by 
Huxham  Paddock  in  1828  were  continued  by  John  C.  and  John  H. 
Paddock  for  nearly  a  quarter  century  ;  then  successively  by  Alex- 
ander Thompson,  Daniel  Thompson,  O.  W.  Orcutt,  Luke  Buzzell, 
Michael  Hynes,  O.  V.  Hooker  and  Frank  B.  Hooker  as  O.  V. 
Hooker  &  Son.  The  old  machine  shop  was  bought  by  the 
Hookers  in  1878.  Starting  in  a  small  way  with  one  lathe  they 
have  enlarged  the  business  interests  until  today  their  patented 
saw  sharpeners,  saw  mills,  felt  tighteners,  and  other  products  are 
shipped  all  over  the  world.  Here  were  made  the  first  Dupont 
Power  Hammers  and  Howard  Saw  Tables,  both  St.   Johnsbury 


BUSINESS  NOTES  477 

inventions.  The  partnership  of  O.  V.  Hooker  &  Son  was  incor- 
porated in  1912  with  $50,000  paid  capital  and  since  that  time  much 
new  machinery  has  been  added ;  electricity  for  power  and  light- 
ing is  furnished  from  their  own  generators  ;  in  the  new  power 
house  is  installed  the  Sampson-Lefell  water  wheel  of  112  horse- 
power and  15  tons  weight,  also  an  air-compressor  which  distrib- 
utes pneumatic  power  in  the  granite  works. 

brick  and  stone  work  Early  brick  making  has  been 
described  on  pages  141  and  194.  The  Bagley  brick  works  were 
established  in  1810  by  Mr.  Bagley,  who  came  from  Weare,  N.  H., 
his  son,  Ira  Bagley,  born  here  in  1813,  continued  the  business 
thro  his  life  time  on  the  plain  above  Paddock  Village.  He  made 
all  the  brick  now  in  the  Court  House,  the  first  Catholic  church, 
the  Union  school  house  and  the  Athenaeum.  The  brick  yards  of 
Sandford  and  Lewis  Thayer  on  the  Danville  road  above  the  pres- 
ent dry-bridge  did  a  brisk  business  during  the  thirties.  In  1870 
Major  Bowman  and  his  son  Thomas  bought  twelve  acres  on  the 
river  bank  above  the  village  water  works  on  which  was  laid  out 
a  floor  for  making  ordinary  and  also  hard-pressed  brick  of  su- 
perior quality ;  these  were  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Under- 
clyffe  home  and  other  buildings  of  that  period.  Millions  of  brick 
of  high  quality  were  made  here,  the  expenditure  for  labor  the 
first  nine  years  was  $25,000;  from  this  kiln  in  October,  1882, 
there  were  turned  out  400,000  brick,  the  largest  single  bunch  ever 
produced  in  the  town;  a  good  proportion  of  them  went  in  to  the 
new  school  building  on  Summer  street ;  comparatively  few  brick 
are  now  made  in  the  town. 

Granite  and  Marble.  All  the  early  stone  work  of  the  town 
was  in  marble,  which  was  made  up  into  head  stones  ;  there  were 
sheds  for  this  purpose  at  the  Center  Village  and  on  the  Plain.  Ex- 
cellent and  elaborate  work  in  marble  has  been  done  for  many  years 
by  the  Bennetts  and  others,  but  since  the  opening  of  the  quarries 
in  Ryegate  granite  work  has  become  much  the  more  important. 
The  St.  Johnsbury  Granite  Company  was  founded  in  1867  by 
Peter  B.  Laird,  enlarged  and  reorganized  in  1874,  and  the  prod- 
ucts of  Granite  Square  obtained  high  recognition.  Statuary 
came  to  be  an  important  feature.     This  was    done    at   first   by 


478  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Italians.  Some  25  statues  a  year  were  being  made  in  the  early 
eighties  ;  these  were  distributed  in  most  of  the  Atlantic  states  as 
far  down  as  South  Carolina ;  some  are  in  Mt.  Pleasant  Cemetery. 
The  fireman's  monument  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  was  made  at  a  cost 
of  $7000,  the  granite  figure  of  a  fireman  in  full  uniform  was  nine 
feet  in  height  erected  48  feet  above  the  ground. 

After  the  Laird  Brothers  retired  the  Carrick  Brothers  con- 
tinued to  operate  on  Granite  Square  and  some  important  orders 
were  executed  by  them.  One  was  the  Vermont  Gettysburg 
monument,  a  Corinthian  column  of  35  tons  weight  modeled  after 
the  Lord  Nelson  shaft  in  Trafalgar  Square,  London ;  surmounting 
this  is  the  bronze  statue  heroic  size  of  Major  General  Stannard 
rising  to  a  height  of  66  feet.  The  order  received  in  1886  from 
Camden,  Arkansas,  for  a  confederate  monument  to  be  made  in 
the  St.  Johnsbury  granite  works  is  worthy  of  record.  The 
weight  of  a  granite  sarcophagus  made  for  Greenwood  Cemetery 
was  120  tons ;  the  receptacle  was  16  by  18  feet  with  bronze  doors 
and  columns  of  polished  granite.  Monumental  structures  of  large 
proportions  have  not  been  produced  in  recent  years,  but  a  brisk 
and  profitable  business  of  perhaps  $100,000  in  granite  has  been 
continuously  carried  on  by  various  owners. 

carriages  The  Miller  Wagon  business  which  originated  in 
Lyndon  during  the  forties  was  removed  to  St.  Johnsbury  in  1862 
and  for  fifty  years  under  management  of  Miller  and  Ryan  was 
among  the  important  industries  of  the  town.  Carriage  making 
required  the  skilled  hand  of  four  different  trades — wheelwright, 
blacksmith,  painter  and  trimmer  ;  master  workmen  were  employed 
and  the  Miller  wagons  came  to  high  rank  everywhere  for  their 
superiority;  "a  well  known  Vermont  institution,  good  for  mill 
or  for  meeting,  for  pleasure  and  for  service."  All  varieties  were 
made  and  the  yearly  output  would  reach  200  wheeled  vehicles 
and  50  sleighs,  representing  a  $25,000  business.  Following  the 
death  of  both  proprietors  the  business  was  discontinued  and  the 
large  building,  a  notable  landmark  on  Railroad  Street,  which  had 
for  half  a  century  been  sending  out  its  contribution  to  the  running 
activities  of  the  road,  was  transformed  into  a  garage  for  vehicles 
of  a  quite  different  type. 


BUSINESS  NOTES  479 

file  works  James  and  Charles  Nutt  of  England  set  up 
works  near  the  old  steam  mill  in  1860  for  re-cutting  files.  This 
was  a  peculiar  process  requiring  expert  training  and  skill.  The 
files  were  subjected  to  a  ten-hour  bath  in  furnaces  to  draw  the 
temper,  then  ground  to  a  level  surface,  in  doing  which  a  two-ton 
grindstone  would  be  used  up  in  a  few  months  ;  cutting  the  teeth 
was  a  work  of  extreme  nicity  and  precision,  followed  by  final 
hardening  in  crucibles  of  melted  lead  and  chemical  cooling  solu- 
tions. These  files  were  of  all  shapes  and  sizes — fiat,  round, 
three-cornered,  long,  short,  thick,  thin,  of  weight  from  one  ounce 
to  five  pounds.  For  more  than  23  years  the  Nutts  of  three  gen- 
erations cut  files  for  the  Fairbanks  scale  works — 36,520  files  in 
the  year  1880 ;  they  also  cut  files  for  the  Howe  Scale  Works ; 
for  the  pistol  works  in  Worcester  and  for  other  factories  in  New 
England  and  Canada. 

belknap  works  Amos  K.  Belknap,  after  seven  years  as 
apprentice  under  Samuel  Crossman,  surpassed  his  master,  became 
the  most  expert  blacksmith  in  this  part  of  the  world  and  stood 
vigorously  at  his  anvil  when  nearly  eighty  years  of  age.  He  was 
famous  for  edge-tools,  would  make  as  many  as  300  axes  a  year, 
produced  the  first  cast  steel  welding  done  in  the  town.  Belknap- 
ville  at  the  little  water  power  on  Sleeper's  river  south  of  the 
Plain  acquired  distinction  for  nice  work  in  iron,  steel  or  brass. 
John  Belknap,  son  of  Amos,  keen  and  skilful,  bred  to  the  trade, 
surpassed  the  father  in  ingenuity.  He  was  capable  of  readily 
producing  any  desired  article,  from  a  plain  edged  tool  to  a  well 
bored  and  mounted  rifle,  a  nice  machine  or  powerful  water  wheel. 
Something  like  100,000  Belknap  knife  blades  were  in  use  in  most 
of  the  northern  and  western  states  ;  an  average  of  100  blades  a 
week  were  made  and  sold  at  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  each  ;  $25  worth 
of  steel  would  yield  $1400  of  knife  blades.  The  John  Belknap 
water-wheel  much  in  demand,  was  the  ultimate  product  of  41 
different  models  which  he  constructed.  He  built  the  dam  on 
Passumpsic  river  south  of  the  Fair  Grounds  over  which  he  was 
swept  by  the  current  of  high  water  and  drowned. 

other  novelties     Aeolicons.     These  were  manufactured  by 
Gilbert  and  Spencer  during  the  fifties  in  considerable   quantities  ; 


480  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

they  were  then  a  popular  musical  instrument;  now  and  then  a 
lonely  survivor  may  be  seen  at  the  present  day.  Shoe  Pegs.  In  1864 
Napoleon  Flint  and  Israel  P.  Magoon  were  manufacturing  shoe 
pegs  in  Summerville  at  the  rate  of  sixty  bushels  of  pegs  a  day. 
Hoop  Skirts.  A  factory  for  making  hoop-skirts  was  in  operation 
on  Railroad  street  above  the  old  Passumpsic  House  as  late  as 
1868.  Archaeologists  of  future  generations  desiring  to  know 
just  what  the  products  of  that  establishment  were,  can  excavate 
the  mounds  of  rubbish  now  buried  in  various  parts  of  the  village. 
Saw  Horses.  Colby  and  Gay  manufactured  saw-horses  that  folded 
up  like  a  jack  knife  ;  they  worked  up  two  million  feet  of  lumber 
into  these  convenient  horses  in  1867,  the  merits  of  which  were 
appreciated  by  one  firm  in  Boston  to  whom  6000  of  them  were 
sent.  Threshing  Machines.  B.  F.  Rollins  began  with  making 
half  a  dozen  of  these  machines  a  year  in  the  early  sixties ;  to 
meet  the  demand  he  soon  had  to  build  five  times  that  number. 
Tobacco.  Roederer  was  turning  out  30,000  cigars  a  month  in 
1880.  Bed  Frames.  Out  of  four  million  feet  of  lumber  Jovite 
Pinard  in  1887  got  10,000  bedsteads  and  500  chamber  sets,  not  to 
mention  other  products.  Mineral  Spring.  The  sulphur  water  of 
Asisqua  Spring,  pumped  up,  charged,  bottled  and  distributed  by 
Capt.  E.  L.  Hovey  in  1895,  brought  in  $1400  that  year  from 
people  of  this  and  other  towns  who  did  not  go  to  Saratoga  or 
Brunswick  Springs. 

milk,  meat  and  medicine  In  the  good  old  times  when 
pasturage  was  abundant  on  or  near  the  Plain  almost  anybody 
could  have  a  cow  and  the  land  flowed  with  milk  if  not  with  honey. 
After  the  opening  of  the  railroad,  William  Green,  who  had  the 
care  of  J.  P.  Fairbanks'  herd  of  cows,  began  delivering  a  few 
cans  of  milk  from  the  farm  wagon  which  was  driven  around  the 
village  by  John  Green,  in  later  years  a  victim  of  Andersonville 
prison  pen.  This  was  the  first  regular  distribution  of  milk  in  the 
town  other  than  the  neighborhood  supplies  carried  by  hand  in 
pails  or  cans.  It  was  some  years  before  a  real  milk  wagon  made 
its  appearance ;  since  then  the  number  has  multiplied  with  the  de- 
creasing pasturage  and  increasing  population,  till  at  the  present 
time  there  are  ten  or  more  daily  traversing  their  routes.  The  Pen- 


BUSINESS  NOTES  481 

nimans  for  more  than  30  years,  and  A.  F.  Lawrence  for  many 
years,  have  been  large  dealers,  delivering  from  one  to  two  hun- 
dred quarts  a  day  each ;  also  Higgins,  Grady,  Ladd  and  others  ; 
the  total  daily  delivery  is  estimated  at  about  2800  quarts. 

Meat  was  formerly  bought  of  the  farmer  and  a  family  supply 
for  the  winter  was  put  down  in  nature's  cold  storage.  The  meat 
cart  and  pedler's  cart  were  contemporaneous,  the  latter  distribut- 
ing tin  ware,  brooms,  goose  wings  and  sundry  notions  in 
exchange  for  rags  ;  (a  man  universally  respected  for  his  character 
and  commiserated  for  his  obstinate  stutter  was  James  Wheaton  of 
the  Center  Village  ;  his  brawny  figure  perched  on  the  high  cart 
fringed  with  brooms  was  a  familiar  feature  of  the  road  over  which 
he  jogged  for  so  many  years.)  The  first  meat  market  was  open- 
ed in  1850  by  Augustus  Sanborn  in  the  basement  of  the  Brown 
block  on  the  Plain  ;  at  that  time  there  was  not  another  one  nearer 
than  Montpelier  or  Lancaster.  Harvey  Gilman  took  it  next,  then 
Lambert  Hastings,  H.  S.  Wright,  Leonard  Penniman,  and  others 
in  the  same  place  down  to  the  present  time.  In  1858,  R.  B.  Flint 
and  A.  M.  Daniels  opened  a  market  on  Railroad  street ;  among 
others  of  later  date  in  the  same  business  were  A.  M.  Cook,  Jarvis 
Bartlett,  William  Daniels,  Sylvester  and  Gray.  The  local  branch 
of  Swift  Brothers  was  established  here  in  1893,  with  a  refrigerator 
capacity  of  two  car  loads  of  dressed  beef,  cooled  by  a  semi-annual 
deposit  of  180  tons  of  ice.  Refrigeration  is  now  secured  without 
ice  by  the  ammonia  process  ;  there  is  an  annual  business  of  about 
$400,000,  C.  W.  Steele,  manager. 

Live  stock  operations  by  Lambert  Hastings  had  acquired 
proportions  even  before  railroad  transportation  began,  see  page 
226  ;  Bela  B.  Hastings  carried  on  the  business  with  increasing 
volume.  Current  transactions  in  live  stock  of  W.  A.  Ricker  in- 
cluded last  year  12,223  cattle,  30,542  calves,  11,602  sheep,  14,581 
swine,  together  with  50,000  pounds  of  wool,  a  total  valuation  of 
$1,140,607.60. 

Bakery.  As  the  so-called  staff  of  life,  bread  was  entirely  a 
kitchen  product  and  crackers  a  Boston  importation  till  the  sum- 
mer of  1851  when  John  S.  Carr  began  bakery  operations  on  a 
small  scale  in  the  old  Major  Peck  building  of  1799.     The  business 


482  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

was  carried  on  by  different  parties  for  fifteen  years,  then  pur- 
chased by  George  H.  Cross  who  continued  it  forty-five  years, 
during  which  time  it  expanded  from  the  making  up  of  three  barrels 
of  flour  a  day,  to  a  daily  manufacture  of  seven  times  that  amount 
of  flour,  plus  a  ton  of  confectionery.  The  new  establishment  on 
Railroad  street  is  considered  one  among  the  best  in  New 
England.  St.  Johnsbury  bakery  products  from  these  ovens  and 
others  are  distributed  in  nearly  every  town  within  a  radius  of 
sixty  miles  or  more. 

Medicine.  The  little  apothecary  or  medicine  shop  of  Dr. 
Luther  Jewett  near  where  the  Academy  now  is,  had  a  tolerably 
ample  assortment  of  drugs,  as  shown  on  page  229 ;  the  establish- 
ment was  moved  after  some  years  into  the  building  more  recently 
known  as  the  Cross  bakery ;  while  there  it  was  purchased  by  J. 
C.  Bingham  and  continued  to  be  for  thirty  years  the  only  drug 
store  in  the  town.  The  remembrance  of  this  druggist  as  he  stood 
among  the  rows  of  jars  carefully  pouring  paregoric  or  whatever 
else  into  a  phial,  is  interesting — his  gaunt  figure  and  peculiar 
physiognomy  made  attractive  by  high  worth  of  character  and 
gentle  courtesy.  The  business  descended  to  his  son  Charles  ; 
this  store  ranks  all  others  of  the  town  in  point  of  age  and  has 
been  continuously  in  the  same  family. 

Physicians.  Following  Dr.  Jewett  came  Dr.  J.  P.  Bancroft  in 
1847 ;  ten  years  later  he  was  called  to  take  the  superintendency  of 
the  New  Hampshire  asylum  for  the  insane  at  Concord,  in  which 
position  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Charles,  a  native  of  this 
town.  He  built  the  house  at  the  east  end  of  Prospect  street,  now 
the  Notre  Dame  rectory,  owned  afterward  by  Dr.  Selim  Newell 
who  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  in 
this  region.  Other  doctors  well  known  or  long  resident  were  H. 
S.  Browne,  S.  T.  Brooks,  Gates  B.  Bullard,  J.  D.  Folsom,  H.  C. 
Newell,  J.  R.  Nelson,  T.  R.  Stiles,  J.  E.  Hartshorn— Sanborn, 
Houghton,  Cushing  and  Sparhawk  were  homeopathists.  Of  seven- 
teen physicians  now  in  active  practice,  two  are  women,  Alice  E. 
Wakefield,  Charlotte  Fairbanks  ;  four  have  a  professional  record 
in  medicine  and  surgery  of  twenty  years  or  more  in  the  town, 
W.  J.  Aldrich,    J.  M.  Alien,  C.  A.  Cramton,  E.  H.  Ross. 


BUSINESS  NOTES  483 

Few  towns  the  size  of  St.  Johnsbury  are  favored  with  so  many 
specialists  and  surgeons  of  superior  skill  and  hospital  facilities  so 
finely  equipped. 

Dentists.  The  first  dentists  were  the  Kilbourne  Brothers,  who 
in  1850  began  operations  in  a  small  room  over  Frank  Brown's 
store ;  H.  H.  Newton  was  next  in  the  line.  J.  L.  Perkins'  dental 
rooms  in  the  south  corner  of  the  brick  block  were  a  familiar  fea- 
ture of  the  place  for  forty  years  ;  G.  F.  Cheney  has  been  nearly 
the  same  length  of  time  in  practice  ;  also  R.  W.  Warner,  and  the 
profession  is  well  represented  by  more  recent  comers. 

Lawyers.  It  was  reported  that  St.  Johnsbury  in  1849  had  the 
services  of  only  one  lawyer,  Judge  Paddock.  Whether  this  indi- 
cated a  non-litigatious  condition  just  then  prevailing  does  not 
appear,  it  may  have  simply  happened  to  be  so.  The  growing 
town  however  required  more  legal  talent  and  the  demand  has 
always  been  abundantly  and  ably  supplied.  Among  its  citizens 
the  town  has  had  lawyers  of  high  character  and  distinction,  not- 
ably the  two  chief  justices,  Poland  and  Ross.  Of  the  seventeen 
lawyers  now  in  residence,  Elisha  May  and  Marshall  Montgomery, 
both  army  veterans,  are  also  the  veterans  of  the  legal  fraternity — 
old  war-horses  of  the  bar  who  have  survived  forty-eight  years  of 
law-battles  or  peaceful  adjustments.  The  town  has  sound  and 
able  lawyers  and  the  fraternal  spirit  alluded  to  at  the  banquet  in 
the  St.  Johnsbury  House,  1856,  as  noted  on  page  268,  still  prevails. 

mercantile  Dry  Goods.  The  designation  of  some  goods 
as  dry  apparently  originated  in  the  days  when  textile  fabrics  were 
carried  by  merchants  in  the  same  store  with  fluids  like  molasses, 
rum  and  vinegar — the  sign  over  the  door  indicated  the  two  main 
departments  of  dry  goods  and  groceries.  Among  the  first  strictly 
dry  goods  dealers  were  Samuel  Jewett  and  Samuel  Higgins,  later 
N.  M.  Johnson,  whose  successors  were  H.  H.  Carr  and  L.  P. 
Leach  ;  but  for  a  good  many  years  the  combination  of  dry  goods 
and  groceries  continued.  The  largest  stock  was  in  the  old  Fair- 
banks store  near  the  scale  works,  founded  in  the  early  forties  and 
burned  in  1889.  Three  years  later  the  dry  goods  department 
was  installed  in  the  new  brick  block  adjoining  the  St.  Johnsbury 


484  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

House,  which  gave  25,000  square  feet  floor  space.  James  Ritchie 
was  manager  ;  later  this  became  the  Brooks-Tyler,  and  now  is 
the  Berry-Ball  dry  goods  store.  That  store  when  first  opened  in 
1892,  together  with  the  finely  appointed  establishment  of  Lougee 
and  Smythe  on  Railroad  street  already  two  years  in  high  repute, 
gave  the  town  a  sort  of  metropolitan  rank  in  the  quality,  bulk  and 
variety  of  dry  goods  transactions.  In  1850,  Wm.  H.  Horton  re- 
cently from  England,  established  the  first  tailoring  house  in  the 
town,  in  a  small  white  building  where  the  Merchants  Bank  now 
is  ;  he  continued  in  the  business  about  forty  years  ;  in  that  store 
was  a  glass  show-case,  a  novelty  at  that  time  which  attracted  at- 
tention. Not  long  after,  Joseph  Boles  opened  a  similar  store  in 
Union  Block  on  the  Plain.  This  was  before  the  era  of  men's  fur- 
nishing establishments  like  those  of  Steele-Taplin,  Moore,  and 
others  that  are  adding  much  to  the  business  importance  of  the 
town  today. 

There  are  some  business  houses  of  long  standing.  The  vet- 
eran among  merchants  is  T.  M.  Howard  who  opened  a  bookstore 
in  1852  ;  prior  to  that  time  George  and  Plummer  Downing  were 
repairing  watches  and  dealing  in  small  jewelry  near  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  House.  Mr.  Howard  in  1856  purchased  their  business 
which  he  combined  with  books,  continued  it  first  in  the  Gilson 
building,  then  after  1870  in  the  new  brick  block  on  the  same  site, 
where  it  is  now  known  as  the  Randall  and  Whitcomb  store.  The 
large  and  choice  assortments  of  jewelry  and  other  wares  in  Thad- 
deus  C.  Spencer's  store  were  hastily  rescued  from  the  flames  that 
swept  Railroad  Street  in  1892 ;  four  years  after  he  lost  his  life  in 
the  Avenue  House  fire ;  his  successors  today  are  Lurchin  & 
Lurchin,  the  business  dating  back  somewhat  more  than  forty 
years.  Geo.  P.  Moore  is  the  merchant  of  longest  record  in  that 
part  of  the  village,  now  nearing  the  half  century  mark.  The 
Edson  Randall  store,  now  in  its  thirty-sixth  year,  is  in  the  block 
built  by  his  father,  Sias  Randall,  sixty  years  ago  when  the  lot  was 
purchased  for  $200  and  the  first  drug  store  on  that  street  was 
opened.  C.  A.  Calderwood  bought  the  furniture  house  founded 
by  Justus  Burnham  in  1851  and  has  continued  it  nearly  forty 
years ;   for  about  the  same  period  A.  L.  Bailey  has  been  supply- 


BUSINESS  NOTES  485 

ing  musical  instruments  and  the  Estabrooks  store  distributing 
dry  goods  and  groceries.  C.  A.  Stanley  inherits  the  furniture 
business  of  Thomas  L.  and  S.  W.  Hall  which  began  in  1850  in  the 
basement  of  the  old  Ephraim  Jewett  store  now  standing  in  the 
rear  of  the  Berry-Ball  block.  On  the  east  side  of  Main  Street 
four  men  in  four  stores  in  a  row  are  in  the  second  quarter-century 
of  their  business,  Bundy,  Goodrich,  Brown  and  Flint.  When  the 
Union  Block  was  built  in  1854,  David  Boynton  set  up  there  the 
first  hardware  store  in  the  town  ;  later  hardware  men  were  Capt. 
C.  F.  Spaulding,  Fayette  Fletcher,  C.  P.  Carpenter  in  the  Gil- 
son  building,  then  standing  on  the  Pythian  Hall  corner,  also  H. 
J.  Goodrich,  whose  iron  ware,  heating  and  plumbing  business  is 
now  in  its  thirty-seventh  year.  The  C.  H.  Goss  Company  with 
specialties  in  steam  fitting,  has  had  rapid  expansion,  doing  an  an- 
nual business  of  about  $300,000,  retail  and  wholesale.  This  house 
is  one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the  state  ;  its  heating  plants  are 
installed  in  many  public  buildings  here  and  elsewhere.  The  Goss 
garage  and  warehouse,  a  modern  structure  of  concrete  and  iron, 
has  fifteen  plate  glass  windows,  some  measuring  nearly  ten  by 
ten  feet  and  containing  10,000  pounds  of  glass.  This  building 
dignifies  a  corner  formerly  distinguished  for  unsightliness,  and  is 
hardly  surpassed  for  its  purposes  in  New  England.  Another  spa- 
cious, finely  equipped  establishment  is  the  new  Wright  garage  on 
Railroad  street. 

Of  fifty  business  offices  in  the  town,  nearly  all  have  high 
standing  in  the  community,  many  have  a  most  creditable  past 
record,  some  have  large  out-of-town  patronage,  few  only  can  be 
included  in  this  brief  sketch. 

lumber  and  construction  The  most  extensive  lumber 
dressing  plant  was  that  established  in  1881  by  the  Northern  Lum- 
ber Company  with  mills  in  Granby  and  St.  Johnsbury  wherein 
ten  million  feet  of  logs  were  manufactured  yearly ;  C.  H.  Stevens 
president  since  1890.  The  Paddock  Village  mills  were  dressing 
a  good  deal  of  lumber  from  an  early  period,  also  the  Moose 
River  mill  in  Summerville  built  by  Jonathan  Lawrence  in 
1854,  the  business  of  which  has  been  profitably  continued  by 
Moses  Barrett,  J.  S.  Parker,  E.  L.  Hovey,  W.  L.  Russell,  C.  C. 
Follensby.     As  many  as  thirty  or  forty  teams  used  to  be  seen  at 


486  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

a  time  on  a  winter  day  around  the  yard ;  in  1904  a  million  and  a 
half  feet  of  lumber  were  sawed  and  sold  here. 

The  town  has  had  capable  contractors  and  builders.  Horace 
Carpenter  built  the  Pinehurst  residence  and  the  South  Church  in 
1851-52.  Lambert  Packard  was  for  24  years  architect  and  builder 
for  the  Fairbanks  Company.  He  constructed  the  brick  buildings 
of  the  Academy,  the  Athenaeum,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  residences 
of  Underclyrle  and  Brantview ;  he  was  the  designer  and  builder 
of  the  North  Church  and  the  Museum.  W.  J.  Bray,  Horace  Ran- 
dall, A.  L.  Bragg,  Matthew  Caldbeck  built  many  of  the  substantial 
business  blocks  and  private  residences ;  Wm  McFarlin,  Joseph 
Brunelle,  James  Foye  are  well-known  contractors.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Notre  Dame  Church,  Brightlook  and  the  Masonic 
Temple  most  of  the  important  buildings  of  the  town  represent 
the  designs  and  construction  work  of  our  own  citizens. 

woodwork  Besides  the  iron-works  at  Paddock  Village  a 
large  amount  of  wood-working  has  added  to  the  hum  of  industry 
around  the  old  Arnold  Falls.  Joseph  Hancock's  furniture  of 
early  years  was  equal  to  the  best  in  style  and  finish.  Ramsey, 
Morris,  Rollins,  Randall,  Carpenter,  L.  O.  Stevens,  Severance, 
Orcutt,  Pinard,  Galer,  Lynch,  Jones  and  Shields  are  names 
well  known  as  manufacturers  of  furniture,  sash,  doors,  blinds, 
house  finish  and  specialties  in  woodwork  which  have  added  to  the 
business  standing  of  the  town.  The  output  of  these  miscel- 
laneous products  in  1900  was  valued  at  $75,000. 

modern  conveniences  Ice.  When  so  much  good  ice  was 
running  to  waste  every  spring  it  seems  surprising  that  our  ances- 
tors were  content  to  cool  their  butter  by  depositing  it  under  the 
well-curb  or  on  the  earth  floor  of  the  cellar,  instead  of  utilizing 
nature's  cooling  material.  Small  bins  for  ice  began  to  be  built 
in  the  woodsheds  before  1850,  but  regular  business  in  ice  was  not 
taken  up  till  long  after.  As  late  as  1880  there  was  one  ice  wagon 
running  in  the  village,  making  three  trips  a  week.  It  requires 
four  wagons  running  every  day  to  supply  present  day  demands 
during  the  summer  months.  In  1907,  Menut  and  Parks  put  up  a 
plant  for  the  manufacture  of  hygienic  ice ;  the  product  was 
superior  but  as  the  expense  exceeded  the  income,  the  making  of  a 


BUSINESS  NOTES  487 

high  grade  of  ice  was  abandoned  and  the  proprietors  returned  to 
nature  for  their  supplies.  They  harvest  about  3500  tons  in  the 
winter,  of  which  1200  tons  or  more  are  distributed  to  patrons  ;  a 
large  percentage  of  the  ice  is  lost  by  the  summer  shrinkage.  The 
annual  business  is  about  $5500 — ice  being  delivered  at  rates  rang- 
ing from  25  to  30  cents  per  hundred  weight. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  St.  Johnsbury  is  the  place 
where  the  true  principle  of  refrigerator  construction,  now  in  uni- 
versal use,  was  first  discovered  and  applied.  This  fact  was  estab- 
lished in  1871  when  the  court  sitting  in  New  York  City  ruled  that 
what  was  then  claimed  by  certain  parties  for  a  patent  right  had 
been  long  before  applied  in  this  town — "evidence  is  conclusive," 
said  the  Judge,  "of  the  construction  both  in  1846  and  in  1849  by 
Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  of  refrigerators  embodying  the  invention 
set  forth  in  his  application  for  a  patent,  and  that  these  refrigera- 
tors continued  in  practical  use  and  are  produced  in  evidence  in 
this  case."  The  principle  in  question  consisted  in  placing  the 
ice  above  the  food  cabinet,  thus  securing  a  down-flow  of  dry,  cool 
air.  Mr.  Fairbanks  having  neither  time  nor  money  for  promoting 
his  invention  relinquished  his  rights  ;  in  process  of  time  they 
were  valued  at  a  million  dollars. 

Gas.  Somewhile  after  1850  the  Fairbanks  Company  installed 
a  gas  plant  for  supplying  light  in  their  scale  shops  and  residences. 
A  few  years  later  the  pipe  line  was  extended  up  Western  Avenue 
for  the  benefit  of  the  South  Church  and  some  other  buildings; 
later  still  most  of  the  public  buildings  on  the  Plain  were  lighted 
from  this  plant  until  the  introduction  of  electricity.  An  effective 
and  brilliant  illumination  was  that  of  the  Athenaeum  on  the  even- 
ing of  its  dedication  in  November,  1871.  In  1906,  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  Gas  Company  was  organized,  Geo.  W.  Cross  president,  and 
a  plant  was  erected  near  the  mouth  of  Sleeper's  River.  The  pro- 
prietors were  exceedingly  generous ;  pipe  lines  were  laid  thro 
the  principal  streets  of  the  village  and  patrons  were  provided 
with  service  piping,  gas  ranges  and  meters  free  of  cost  at  an  ex- 
pense to  the  company  of  $125,000.  The  product  of  this  plant  is 
carbureted  water  gas  made  from  crude  oil  and  broken  coal,  used 
mostly  on  the  cooking  ranges ;    the  price  is  $1.20  to  $1.50  per 


488  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

thousand  cubic  feet  according  to  the  monthly  amounts  drawn 
from  the  meter ;  the  total  yearly  consumption  is  about  fifteen 
million  cubic  feet. 

Electricity,  The  St.  Johnsbury  Electric  Light  and  Power 
Company  organized  May  1888,  was  re-organized  in  1891  with 
$50,000  capital,  at  which  time  there  were  on  the  streets  50  arc 
lights  of  2000  candle  power  each,  and  for  in-door  use  36  arcs  and 
750  incandescents,  on  a  circuit  of  35  miles  of  wire.  There  are 
now  80  arcs  and  about  36,000  incandescent  lamps,  the  circuit  being 
122  miles.  This  Company  owns  four  power  stations — one  at  the 
Belknap  dam  below  the  Fair  Grounds,  one  at  Passumpsic  village, 
one  at  the  Center,  one  east  of  the  railroad  station ;  these  four  com- 
prise all  the  water  powers  of  this  vicinity  on  Passumpsic  river 
with  the  exception  of  the  Paddock  village  falls.  The  plant  was  pur- 
chased in  1913  by  the  Twin  State  Gas  and  Electric  Company. 

photography  The  old-time  Daguerreotype  Car,  painted 
white,  sky-lighted,  drawn  by  four  horses,  used  to  appear  periodi- 
cally on  our  streets  prior  to  1850,  and  all  the  sun-pictures  of  that 
period  were  taken  under  its  glass  dome;  there  are  still  a  few 
surviving  specimens  of  1849  that  were  printed  in  the  Brooks  car 
from  Boston,  which  was  moored  a  little  way  below  the  old  burial 
ground. 

The  pioneer  daguerreotypist  who  obtained  a  residence  was 
F.  B.  Gage  whose  St.  Johnsbury  Portrait  Gallery  was  opened  1851 
in  the  Emerson  Hall  building  then  standing  on  the  Athenaeum 
site.  He  was  ingenious,  painstaking  and  skilful  as  an  artist, 
with  a  touch  of  eccentricity  and  droll  humor ;  he  styled  himself 
The-Old-Daguerreen,  The-Man-with-the-long-flowing-Beard,  crea- 
tor of  Daguerreotypes,  Ambrotypes,  Statutypes,  Colorotypes ; 
he  took  first  premiums  at  the  County  Fairs  and  diversified  the 
columns  of  the  Caledonian  with  his  whimsical  verse.  The  lines 
here  given  were  entitled 


BUSINESS  NOTES  489 

&   SO   FORTH   &   SO   ON 
BY  THE  FLOWING  BEARD 

How  swiftly  the  moments  of  life  hurry  on, 

Nor  slow  forth  nor  slow  on, 
But  swift  as  the  tide  of  a  swift  rushing  river 

They  flow  forth  &  flow  on 

&  so  forth  &  so  on. 

Then  O,  as  you  row  down  the  River  of  Life, 

As  you  row  forth  &  row  on, 
Have  your  likeness  preserved  in  a  case  or  a  frame 

To  show  forth  and  show  on 

&  so  forth  &  so  on. 

And  e'en  though  the  weather  be  cloudy  or  fair 

Or  snow  forth  &  snow  on, 
And  e'en  though  the  tempest  should  rise  in  its  wrath 

&  blow  forth  &  blow  on, 
We'll  take  you  a  picture  you  won't  be  ashamed 

When  you  go  forth  &  go  on 

To  show  forth  &  show  on 

&  so  forth  &  so  on. 

The  Gage  gallery  in  Brown's  block  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
was  purchased  by  Geo.  H.  Hastings  and  has  descended  thro  suc- 
cessive owners  to  W.  H.  Jenks,  the  present  proprietor.  Long 
time  photographers  on  Eastern  Avenue  were  T.  C.  Haynes  and 
C.  H.  Clark.  A  photographic  artist  of  eminence  was  D.  A.  Clif- 
ford over  the  Post  Office  block,  who  died  in  1889.  For  47  years 
he  had  kept  himself  master  of  every  known  process  of  his  art. 
Among  167  exhibitors,  English  and  American,  at  the  Lambert  ex- 
position in  New  York  1878,  the  first  prize  for  large  carbon  work 
was  awarded  D.  A.  Clifford  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  and  two  of  his 
pictures  were  kept  by  Mr.  Lambert  as  specimens  of  American 
photography  to  be  exhibited  in  England.  Clifford  was  for  sev- 
eral years,  until  his  death,  vice-president  of  the  American  Photog- 
raphers Association  ;  for  his  enthusiasm  in  the  art  he  was  called 
among  the  members  the  old  war  horse  from  Vermont ;  it  was 
agreed  that  his  landscape  pictures  were  adding  much  to  the  popu- 
lar fame  of  Green  Mountain  scenery,  chiefly  of  this  immediate 
vicinity. 


490  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

newspapers  The  Farmer's  Herald  and  The  Caledonian  have 
already  come  under  review  on  pages  184  and  219.  Complete  files 
of  both  are  preserved  at  the  Athenaeum;  the  volumes  of  the  latter 
cover  a  period  of  seventy-seven  years  and  contain  valuable  infor- 
mation relating  to  events  of  the  last  half  century. 

In  1869  the  St.  Johnsbury  Times  was  established  by  Arthur 
Ropes,  D.  K.  Simonds  and  Edwin  L.  Hovey,  as  an  independent 
sheet,  a  free  lance.  It  was  published  on  Railroad  Street ;  con- 
tinued three  years  and  in  1872  the  plant  was  bought  by  T.  H. 
Hoskins  of  Newport;  the  name  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  the 
Vermont  Farmer \  edited  by  Royal  Cummings.  Five  years  later 
in  1877  it  went  into  the  hands  of  John  W.  Lewis,  receiver,  with 
liabilites  of  $5000.  In  December,  1879,  it  was  revived  under  the 
name  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Index,  A.  B.  Howe,  editor;  it  was  sold 
to  J.  E.  Harris  in  1883,  and  he  in  turn  sold  it  the  next  year  to  the 
Caledonia  Publishing  Company,  organized  with  $10,000  capital, 
subsequently  increased  to  $15,000.  This  company,  composed  of 
business  men  from  this  and  other  towns  in  the  county,  Dudley  P. 
Hall  of  Lyndon,  president,  took  over  whatever  property  was  left 
of  the  Index  after  paying  notes  and  bills  payable  of  a  good 
many  thousand  dollars.  The  experience  of  fifteen  years  had 
demonstrated  that  St.  Johnsbury  was  not  a  favorable  field  for 
radical  journalism.  Meantime  a  new  situation  had  developed. 
Mr.  Blaine  had  not  received  the  full  support  of  his  party  here  in 
the  recent  presidential  campaign.  One  result  of  this  was  the  es- 
tablishment by  the  Caledonia  Publishing  Company  of 

the  st.  johnsbury  republican  The  first  issue  was  brought 
out  March  26,  1885  ;  Edward  Johnson  of  Burlington  was  appoint- 
ed editor  and  C.  T.  Walter  business  manager,  and  the  new  paper 
prospered.  In  1890,  the  Republican  Block  was  erected,  which, 
besides  providing  superior  facilities  for  publishing  purposes,  was 
a  valuable  addition  to  the  group  of  substantial  buildings  in  that 
locality.  In  1894,  the  paper  was  sold  to  L.  P.  Thayer,  who  for 
four  years  conducted  it  as  a  private  enterprise.  Then  in  1898  it 
was  purchased  again  by  the  Republican  Company  to  whom  the 
block  belonged,  the  principal  ownership  being  in  Lyndon,  and 
Mr.  Walter  became  editor   and  manager.      The   Republican  has 


BUSINESS  NOTES  491 

continued  to  have  favorable  patronage  and  good  standing  in  the 
state  ;  at  the  present  time  the  two  newspapers  of  this  town  are 
eight-page  sheets  well  printed,  of  the  same  political  faith  and 
nearly  identical  in  style  and  make  up. 

maple  sugar  The  early  methods  of  sugar  making  and 
soap  making  were  ludicrously  similar ;  the  fluid  contents  of  the 
big  iron  kettle  suspended  on  forked  sticks  over  the  fire  were  re- 
duced to  the  desired  consistency,  poured  off,  stirred  and  stored  in 
barrels  for  the  year's  supply  of  the  family.  There  was  little  if 
any  sugar  or  soap  to  be  marketed ;  it  was  yet  a  good  while  before 
cane  sugar  either  in  brown  bulk  or  in  white  cones  wrapped  in 
blue  paper  made  its  appearance.  By  the  year  1850,  however,  Cale- 
donia County  had  a  reputation  for  sugar,  the  product  that  year 
being  854,820  pounds  ;  this  was  more  than  any  other  County  in 
the  state  produced,  Washington,  Franklin  and  Orleans  being  next 
in  productiveness.  This  town,  however,  was  never  famous  as  a 
sugar  producer;  sixty  years  ago  more  was  made  than  now,  there 
were  more  trees  then.  In  1857,  the  maple  groves  on  seventeen  of 
the  Four  Corners  and  Goss  Hollow  districts  yielded  16,190 
pounds  of  sugar,  principally  on  the  farms  of  the  early  settlers, 
Gardner  Wheeler,  David  Goss,  Aldrich,  Hawkins,  Houghton, 
Ayer  and  others. 

Whatever  rank  St.  Johnsbury  has  failed  to  attain  in  the  pro- 
duction of  sugar  is  being  rapidly  offset,  so  to  speak,  by  its  in- 
creasing importance  as  a  distributing  center — George  C.  Cary's 
transactions  in  maple  sugar  amount  to  a  million  dollars  annually  ; 
the  Towle  Maple  Products  Company,  now  operating  in  the  con- 
crete block  on  the  meadow,  send  out  a  like  amount  of  Log  Cabin 
Maple  Syrup  and  cakes  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  this  estab- 
lishment the  syrup  purchased  from  the  farmers  is  reheated  by 
steam,  pumped  thro  a  filtering  press  into  tanks  holding  2200  gal- 
lons, then  piped  into  copper  kettles,  reheated  and  drawn  into  re- 
ceptacles for  shipment.  The  volume  of  this  business  began  to 
appear  in  September,  1912,  when  a  special  train  in  five  sections  of 
25  car  loads  of  maple  products  was  dispatched  from  the  St.  Johns- 
bury  works  across  the  continent  to  San  Francisco.  With  sugar 
business  aggregating  two  million  dollars  annually,  this  town  is  at 
the  present  time  the  largest  maple  sugar  market  in  the  world. 


XXXV 


CLUBS  AND  ORDERS 


THE  BOARD   OF  TRADE 


The  St.  Johnsbury  Board  of  Trade  was  established  February 
25,  1891,  with  sixty  charter  members,  H.  N.  Turner,  President. 
For  ten  years  it  was  an  important  institution,  public  spirited  and 
practically  useful ;  its  membership  included  150  of  the  business 
and  professional  men,  and  there  was  a  paid  Secretary.  The 
Board  of  Trade  Rooms  on  the  first  floor  of  the  new  Republican 
Block  became  an  open  forum  for  the  discussion  of  almost  every 
question  relating  to  the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  the  town  at  that 
period.  Much  attention  was  paid  to  business  and  industrial  in- 
terests ;  in  1893  there  were  sent  out  50,000  circulars  setting  forth 
the  main  features  and  attractions  of  St.  Johnsbury.  Numerous 
public  functions  were  organized  and  conducted  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  such  as  the  reception  to  President  Harrison ;  the  patriotic 
send-off  to  Company  D  on  its  departure  to  the  Spanish  war  ;  the 
relief  fund  to  San  Francisco  after  the  earthquake.  Matters  of 
this  sort  continued  to  be  taken  up  by  officers  of  the  Board  after 
suspension  of  its  regular  meetings  in  1900.  The  annual  banquets 
were  notably  interesting,  not  infrequently  with  speakers  of  na- 
tional reputation  as  guests.  The  first  of  these  was  at  the  Town 
Hall  in  February,  1892  ;  there  were  160  covers,  and  the  remark 
was  made  that  "this  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  town 
that  all  its  interests  were  combined  in  so  large  numbers."  A 
year  later,  "the  largest  banquet  ever  in  St.  Johnsbury"  was  pre- 
pared by  Landlord  Krogman  in  the  Stanley  Opera  House,  at 
which  the  guest  of  honor  was  the  new-born  Woman's  Club,  repre- 
sented by  Mrs.  Jonathan  Ross,  its  President. 


CLUBS  AND  ORDERS  493 

THE   MERCHANTS'   ASSOCIATION 

In  March,  1890,  fifty-seven  men  were  organized  under  the 
name  of  the  St.  Johnsbury  Merchants'  Association,  the  object  being 
to  correct  abuses  of  the  credit  system,  to  collect  bills  and  to  keep 
lists  of  cash  customers  and  of  others  whose  credit  was  not  good. 
Two  years  later  this  body  became  a  department  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  ;  in  March,  1896,  it  resumed  independence  and  came  to  be 
much  more  than  a  local  institution.  Its  membership  of  750  in 
1898,  represented  seventy-five  towns  and  cities,  with  net  receipts 
of  $1,131.82.  Each  year  its  business  methods  attracted  wider 
range  of  patronage  ;  a  Boston  house  reported  having  in  one  year 
collected  more  than  fifty  accounts  in  six  different  states,  and 
ranked  the  St.  Johnsbury  Merchants'  Association  superior  to  any 
similar  system.  The  membership  includes  leading  manufacturers; 
merchants,  wholesale  and  retail ;  banks  and  bankers  ;  profession- 
al men;  gas,  electric,  telephone,  insurance,  coal  and  ice  com- 
panies, from  208  towns  and  cities  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
During  1912  there  were  1470  names  put  on  the  cash  customer  list; 
total  on  this  list  is  17,305 ;  the  entire  membership  of  the  Associa- 
tion has  been  2954,  President,  L.  N.  Smythe;  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  C.  H.  Bagley. 

THE    COMMERCIAL   CLUB 

The  Board  of  Trade  remained  quiescent  and  was  not  revived 
under  the  same  name ;  but  a  process  of  metempsychosis  was 
going  on  and  when  ten  years  were  fulfilled  it  appeared  again  re- 
incarnated in  The  Commercial  Club,  born  April  20,  1910.  A  dis- 
tinctive feature  of  this  body  was  the  energy  with  which  younger 
men  addressed  themselves  to  the  public  welfare.  Charles  W. 
Steele  was  the  first  President.  A  large  and  wide  awake  member- 
ship was  enrolled,  with  annual  dues  of  five  dollars.  One  of  the 
first  matters  taken  up  was  that  of  the  water  supply  for  domestic 
uses,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  condemnation  of  the  river  water 
by  the  State  Board  of  Health  had  not  been  taken  seriously.  Other 
important  interests  forwarded  have  been  the  promotion  of  new 
industries,  improved    roads  and  highways,   more   adequate   fire 


494  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

protection  and  advantageous  insurance  rates,  better  freight  and 
transportation  facilities,  underground  wiring,  cleaner  streets  and 
a  sensible  Fourth  of  July.  To  the  Commercial  Club  is  mainly 
due  the  establishment  of  Merchants  Day,  the  St.  Johnsbury  Ver- 
monter  of  October,  1911,  the  guaranty  and  success  of  the  Pageant 
of  1912,  securing  appropriation  from  Congress  for  a  Federal 
Building,  also  the  very  satisfactory  hotel  equipment  of  the  new 
St.  Johnsbury  House.  A  wholesome  town  spirit  has  been 
awakened  and  many  hundreds  of  dollars  spent  for  town  better- 
ment ;  the  Club  Banquets  at  Pythian  Hall  for  discussion  of  cur- 
rent problems  have  brought  together  large  and  representative  as- 
semblies. As  a  diversion,  this  masculine  body  had  the  audacity 
to  challenge  the  Woman's  Club  to  a  spelling  match. 

THE  ST.   JOHNSBURY  WOMAN'S  CLUB 

"In  great  things  Unity 
In  small  things  Liberty 
In  all  things  Charity." 

"We,  the  women  of  St.  Johnsbury,  interested  in  the  beauti- 
fying and  improvement  of  our  beloved  town,  and  in  promoting  a 
kindly  feeling  and  broad  unison  of  spirit  and  action  within  its 
borders,  do  band  ourselves  together  into  an  association  for  this 
purpose,  and  to  insure  success  adopt  the  following  Constitution." 
This  was  the  preamble  under  which  the  Club  was  organized  in  the 
Board  of  Trade  Rooms,  May  9,  1892,  with  Mrs.  Jonathan  Ross 
first  President  and  Mrs.  Elisha  May  vice  President. 

That  the  Woman's  Club  has  never  lost  sight  of  its  original 
purpose  to  work  for  the  good  of  the  town,  is  plainly  seen  in  its 
fruitful  record  of  twenty  years.  Appropriations  were  immediate- 
ly made  for  village  improvement  and  for  securing  the  Home  for 
aged  women.  Following  the  disastrous  fire  of  October,  the  same 
year,  the  Club  raised  and  distributed  a  relief  fund  of  $404.82. 
Street  cleaning  was  undertaken  and  lawn  settees  placed  in  the 
parks  at  the  expense  of  the  Club.  In  1896,  the  sum  of  $266  was 
given  the  Village  Trustees  for  the  erection  of  drinking  fountains 
and  stone  water  troughs.  An  appropriation  of  $160  was  made  in 
1904,  for  a  vacation  school  on  Summer  Street,  at  which  basketry, 


CLUBS  AND  ORDERS  495 

woodwork,  repairing,  sloyd,  sewing  and  cookery  were  taught. 
The  results  of  this  were  so  gratifying  that  during  the  following 
year  the  town  voted  $300  for  the  same  purpose  and  this  experi- 
ment in  industrial  training  was  continued  for  some  years.  The 
Club  also  introduced  into  the  schools  a  penny  stamp  savings 
system;  during  a  single  month  150  children  made  deposits  amount- 
ing to  $50.  The  employment  of  a  district  nurse  was  inaugurated 
in  1906 ;  for  this  purpose  generous  sums  were  voted,  which  at 
successive  town  meetings  were  supplemented  by  liberal  appro- 
priations from  the  town.  A  booklet  containing  a  digest  of  the 
laws  of  the  state  relating  to  women  and  children  was  published 
by  the  Club,  and  through  its  efforts  an  important  revision  of  our 
Village  charter  was  secured. 

The  activities  of  the  Woman's  Club  have  not  been  limited  to 
local  interests.  In  1896,  it  took  the  initiative  in  the  project  of 
bringing  together  all  similar  clubs  in  the  state,  the  result  of 
which  was  The  Vermont  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs  organized 
in  this  town  with  a  St.  Johnsbury  woman  first  President.  The 
first  traveling  libraries  in  the  state  were  purchased  and  sent  on 
their  trips  by  the  St.  Johnsbury  Club ;  these  were  subsequently 
presented  to  the  Vermont  Library  Association  and  have  grown  to 
be  an  important  feature  in  its  work  among  small  towns.  Mean- 
time a  system  of  rural  district  libraries  has  been  instituted  by  the 
Club  for  the  schools  of  our  own  town ;  of  these  there  are  five  in 
constant  circulation,  with  headquarters  at  the  Athenaeum.  The 
influence  of  this  Club  was  recognized  in  the  passage  of  child-labor 
laws,  pure  food  laws,  and  in  the  appointment  of  women  on  the 
state  boards  of  charitable  institutions,  the  first  to  serve  in  this  ca- 
pacity being  one  of  its  own  members. 

Among  public  entertainments  provided  by  the  Woman's  Club, 
not  to  speak  of  many  musical  ones,  have  been  addresses  or  read- 
ings by  Mrs.  General  Custer,  Julia  C.  R.  Dorr,  Sallie  Joy  White, 
Kate  Gannett  Woods,  Alice  Freeman  Palmer,  Mabel  Loomis 
Todd,  Katherine  Lee  Bates,  Isobel  Strong,  Frances  Dyer ;  with 
now  and  then  an  interesting  man  on  the  rostrum  for  variety. 

A  recent  important  enterprise  is  the  acquisition  of  the  Dr. 
Folsom  property  on  Cherry  street  for  a  Club  House.     This  is 


496  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

centrally  located,  and  the  buildings  and  grounds  are  adaptable  to 
any  desired  development ;  including  under  present  plans  an 
ample  auditorium,  rest  and  guest  rooms,  facilities  for  classes  in 
domestic  science  and  other  feminine  accomplishments,  and  an 
inviting  resort  for  young  women  who  have  no  home. 

Considering  results  already  quietly  accomplished  in  village 
improvement,  in  the  development  of  refined  culture  and  practical 
arts,  in  the  unifying  of  diverse  or  sectional  interests,  in  the  culti- 
vation of  unbiased  public  spirit  and  a  broadening  vision,  the 
Woman's  Club  will  be  accorded  a  front  rank  among  agencies 
working  together  for  the  good  of  the  town. 

DAUGHTERS   OF   THE    AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 

At  this  point  mention  should  be  made  of  the  organization 
which  undertook  to  secure  for  St.  Johnsbury  a  permanent  record 
of  its  history.  A  chief  feature  of  the  order  of  The  Daughters  of 
the  Revolution  has  been  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  early 
patriots,  to  secure  and  preserve  documents,  events  and  traditions 
of  the  past,  both  national  and  local.  With  this  in  view  the  present 
writer  was  urged  by  the  local  Chapter  to  compile  the  historical 
narrative  set  forth  in  this  book,  and  at  the  same  time  the  expense 
of  its  publication  was  assumed. 

This  Chapter,  taking  the  name  of  the  town  god-father,  was 
organized  June  17,  1897,  the  122nd  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hall.  Obviously  the  membership  could  not  be  large  tho 
the  name  was  a  long  one ;  there  were  twelve  charter  members 
and  during  the  seventeen  years  about  forty  in  all.  Anniversaries 
of  notable  days  in  the  history  of  the  state  and  nation  are  appro- 
priately commemorated,  with  occasional  public  entertainments. 
Future  generations  interested  in  past  events  of  the  town  as  re- 
corded  on  these,  pages   will  acknowledge  indebtedness  to  the 

ST.  JOHN  DE  CREVECCEUR  CHAPTER  of  the  DAUGHTERS  of  the 
AMERICAN   REVOLUTION. 

FRATERNAL   ORDERS 
THE    MASONIC 

The  beginnings  of  Masonry  in  this  part  of  the  state  were  at 
Danville,  where  Harmony  Lodge  No.  14  was  established  in  1797. 


CLUBS  AND  ORDERS  ,  497 

This  lodge  was  removed  to  St.  Johnsbury  in  1812,  meeting  first 
in  Major  Butler's  house  on  the  Center  Village  road,  later  in  the 
hall  of  John  Barney's  Tavern  and  in  Hezekiah  Martin's  hall,  till 
1829,  at  which  time  anti-Masonic  agitation  was  at  its  height,  and 
the  lodge  expired.  Among  the  Masons  of  that  period  were  some 
of  the  prominent  men  of  the  town  :  Calvin  Jewett,  John  Barney, 
John  Armington,  Jerry  Dickerman,  Ezra  Ide,  Hezekiah  Martin, 
Eleazar  Sanger,  Stephen  Hawkins,  Joseph  Fairbanks,  Joel 
Roberts,  and  others.  The  last  paragraph  on  the  books  of  Har- 
mony lodge  records  that  Erastus  Fairbanks  was  chosen  represen- 
tative to  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1831. 

Twenty-two  years  later  came  the  establishment  of  Passump- 
sic  Lodge  No.  27.  Among  the  first  officers  were  Dr.  Calvin 
Jewett,  Francis  Bingham,  Franklin  Fairbanks,  Pearl  D.  Blodgett. 
For  ten  years  a  hall  over  the  Bingham  drug  store  was  occupied, 
then  for  about  twenty  years  the  hall  in  Union  Block.  Masonic 
Hall  on  Main  Street  was  built  in  1885,  and  occupied  46  years, 
until  the  completion  of  the  new  Masonic  Temple  on  Eastern 
Avenue  in  1912.  This  building,  devoted  entirely  to  the  uses  of 
the  order,  is  an  imposing  structure,  sixty  by  eighty  feet  ground 
floor,  richly  and  tastefully  furnished,  with  ample  accommodation 
for  all  departments  and  functions.  C.  A.  Calderwood  was  chair- 
man of  the  building  committee.  Its  cost  was  $35,000  ;  the  finest 
Masonic  building  in  the  state  ;  membership  is  about  400.  De- 
partments :  Passumpsic  Lodge  No.  27 ;  Haswell  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  No.  11 ;  Mizpah  Lodge  of  Perfection ;  Caledonia  Council 
No.  13 ;  Palestine  Commandery  No.  5,  K.  T. ;  Mystic  Star  Chapter 
No.  29.  The  writer  is  indebted  to  R.  C.  Sulloway  for  facts  above 
given. 

ORDER   OF   ODD    FELLOWS 

Caledonia  Lodge  No.  6  was  established,  at  Danville,  January 
1,  1847.  The  chief  officers  were  Charles  S.  Dana  and  David 
Boynton,  who  soon  after  became  citizens  of  St.  Johnsbury.  In 
1850,  the  Lodge  was  removed  to  this  town.  It  may  have  been  in 
connection  therewith  that  on  the  fifth  of  February  that  year  "two 
omnibus   loads  of  Odd  Fellows  went  to  Danville,   each  Fellow 


498  i       TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

made  even  by  an  Odd  Sister."  In  1853,  a  division  occurred  in 
the  Lodges  of  the  State  (over  the  color  question)  in  consequence 
of  which  Caledonia  Lodge  and  all  others  excepting  four,  dis- 
banded.    It  was  reinstituted  January  19,  1869. 

On  the  23rd  of  July,  1874,  the  corner  stone  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows Block  on  Railroad  street  was  laid,  with  ceremonies.  This 
was  a  three  story  brick  building  with  tower,  completed  at  a  cost 
of  $20,000  and  dedicated  December  1,  1874.  Twenty-one  years 
later,  after  extensive  improvements,  the  Hall  was  rededicated  on 
the  occasion  of  the  quarter  century  State  Encampment,  May,  1895. 
There  were  250  representatives  of  the  Order  in  the  parade,  and 
a  complimentary  entertainment  was  given  in  Music  Hall ;  the  ad- 
dress of  the  evening  was  given  by  Rev.  Dr.  Heath.  The  athletic 
contests  of  Field  Day  at  the  Fair  Grounds  have  attracted  throngs 
of  people. 

KNIGHTS   OF   PYTHIAS 

Apollo  Lodge,  No.  2,  of  this  order  was  organized  with  48 
charter  members.  It  was  here  that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ver- 
mont was  instituted  in  1888.  The  Pythian  Block  on  Eastern 
Avenue  was  erected  in  1893  and  the  hall  was  dedicated  February 
27  of  the  year  following.  Twelve  months  and  twelve  days  from 
that  date  the  building  and  the  records  were  destroyed  by  fire  in- 
volving a  loss  to  the  owners  and  occupants  of  $35,000 ;  it  was  im- 
mediately rebuilt.  An  interesting  occasion  was  the  State  Con- 
vention and  Field  Day  of  1899  when  350  visiting  Knights  were 
here,  public  buildings  and  blocks  were  decorated,  the  parade  and 
review  on  the  school  common  drew  many  spectators.  Not  only 
was  St.  Johnsbury  the  birth  place  of  the  Grand  Lodge  but  the 
local  uniform  rank  company  was  the  first  in  the  state  and  Apollo 
Lodge  the  second  in  order  of  subordinate  lodges.  As  an  as- 
sembly room  for  various  public  purposes  the  Pythian  Hall  has 
probably  been  more  used  than  any  other  in  the  town. 

PATRONS   OF   HUSBANDRY 

The  national  order  of  this  name  was  perfected  in  Washing- 
ton December  4,   1867,  under  direction  of  O.  H.  Kelley  of  the 


CLUBS  AND  ORDERS  499 

Bureau  of  Agriculture,  with  a  view  to  secure  improved  conditions 
among  the  agriculturists  of  the  country.  Jonathan  Lawrence, 
son  of  David  Lawrence,  a  pioneer  who  had  pitched  above  Crow 
Hill  in  1790,  became  interested  in  the  movement  and  secured 
authority  from  Washington  to  establish  granges  in  Vermont. 
The  immediate  result  of  his  commission  was  the  foundation,  July 
4,  1871,  of  the  Green  Mountain  Grange,  No.  1,  in  St.  Johnsbury. 
This  was  literally  number  one,  being  the  first  grange  formed  in 
New  England.  It  was  organized  in  the  old  Armory  on  Summer 
street  with  thirty  members  ;  they  signed  the  articles  on  a  drum 
head,  Volney  F.  Powers,  secretary.  After  about  twenty  years 
this  grange  was  removed  to  the  Center  Village  and  occupied  the 
new  Green  Mountain  Hall.  A  second  grange  called  the  Wide 
Awake  was  formed  here  in  1876,  and  these  two,  with  four  others, 
in  neighboring  towns,  constitute  a  group  subordinate  to  the  Po- 
mona Grange.  The  Vermont  State  Grange  was  organized  in  this 
town  July  4,  1872.  The  State  Grange  Lecturer  is  our  townsman, 
Erastus  H.  Hallett. 

This  order  has  revived  the  old  English  word  grange,  which 
signified  a  farming  establishment  attached  to  a  feudal  manor  or 
monastery : — 

"The  broken  sheds  look'd  sad  and  strange 
Upon  the  lonely  moated  grange." 

Besides  the  orders  above  mentioned  having  longest  record 
and  buildings  of  their  own,  there  are  others  of  more  recent  date  : 

Knights  of  Honor,  since  1885 — Eureka  Lodge  918. 

New  England  Order  of  Protection,  1892— Green  Mt.  Lodge,  49 

Red  Clover  Lodge,  540 
Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  1893— St.  Johnsbury  Court,  300 

Sherman  Court,  627 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  1895— Algonquin  Tribe,  9 
Junior  United  American  Mechanics,  1897 — Gen.  Logan  Council,  22 
Order  of  United  Commercial  Travelers,  1897— St.  J.  Council,  230 
Knights  of  Columbus,  1899— Sheridan  Council,  421 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  1901— Asisqua  Camp,  8149 


XXXVI 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


INCORPORATION 

Under  charter  of  October,  1852,  the  corporators  met  and  or- 
ganized the  Village  of  St.  Johnsbury  on  the  fifth  of  January,  1853, 
with  the  following  officers  :  President,  L.  P.  Poland  ;  Clerk,  B. 
O.  Stephenson  ;  Treasurer,  Horace  Paddock  ;  Trustees,  Asa  L. 
French,  J.  P.  Bancroft,  Horace  Fairbanks,  Wm.  D.  Weeks,  Joseph 
Boles.  At  the  first  Village  Meeting  after  adoption  of  the  by-laws, 
it  was  voted  to  raise  $1000  for  a  new  fire  engine  with  fixtures, 
and  to  build  large  reservoirs  on  the  Plain  and  near  the  Passump- 
sic  House.  The  bounds  of  the  village  were  drawn  to  include 
Paddock  Village,  the  Depot,  the  Plain  and  Fairbanks  Village,  and 
in  October,  1853,  the  streets  were  re-surveyed,  approved  and 
opened  for  travel  as  "public  streets  in  the  Village  of  St.  Johns- 
bury." 

The  Village  Corporation  was  empowered  to  elect  fire  war- 
dens and  regulate  operations  of  the  fire  companies  ;  to  care  for 
the  streets,  light  the  same  and  keep  a  watch ;  to  provide  for 
planting  and  preserving  shade  trees ;  to  regulate  markets,  gro- 
ceries and  victualing  shops ;  to  restrain  cattle,  horses,  sheep, 
swine  and  geese  from  going  at  large ;  to  impose  fines  and  levy 
necessary  taxes.  Additions  to  the  Act  of  1852  were  made  by  the 
Legislature  of  1856,  1859,  1888,  1890,  1896,  1906,  relating  to  mat- 
ters arising  from  time  to  time,  such  as  the  appointment  of  police 
officers  and  chief  engineer  of  the  fire  department ;  the  mainte- 
nance of  aqueducts  and  reservoirs ;  suitable  exits  from  public 
halls  and  theatres ;    the  suppression  of   disorderly   and   gaming 


ST.  JOHNSBURY  VILLAGE  501 

houses  and  nuisances  ;  the  regulation  of  fast  driving,  of  cruelty 
to  animals,  of  pedlers  and  shows,  of  the  use  and  sale  of  fire 
crackers,  squibs,  toy  pistols  ;  control  of  parades  and  crowds  on 
the  streets.  The  first  pamphlet  containing  the  Acts  and  By-Laws 
was  printed  at  Boston  in  1853,  the  second  at  Concord  1870,  the 
third  at  the  Republican  Press  1893,  the  fourth  with  amendments 
and  additions  in  1904,  the  fifth  enlarged  and  revised  in  1907. 

Seven  hundred  citizens  met  February  20,  1907,  at  the  special 
village  meeting  to  take  action  on  this  revision  of  the  By-Laws 
subject  to  the  Act  of  1906.  The  Town  Hall  being  crowded,  ad- 
journment was  made  to  the  armory  building  on  Central  street  and 
the  37  Articles  discussed  and  adopted  seriatim.  This  was  an  im- 
portant meeting ;  it  conferred  on  the  Trustees  full  control  of  the 
sale  of  beverages  and  the  maintenance  of  good  order  and  quiet 
in  the  village. 

ANNEXATION  OF  SUMMERVILLE 

The  question  of  extending  the  boundaries  of  the  Village  east- 
ward occasioned  much  debate  with  diverse  opinions,  on  both 
sides  of  the  river.  In  March,  1890,  a  petition  for  annexation 
signed  by  eleven  freeholders  residing  in  Summerville  was  present- 
ed thro  the  Village  trustees  to  the  Judges  of  the  County  Court. 
This  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  P.  K.  Gleed  of  Morrisville, 
A.  B.  Carpenter  of  Waterford,  L.  W.  Hubbard  of  Lyndon,  Com- 
missioners to  conduct  negotiations.  Preliminary  meetings  were 
held  with  full  discussion  ;  the  final  vote  of  Summerville  was 
taken  May  17,  resulting  as  follows  :  67  voted  no,  with  a  grand 
list  of  $701.08,  and  73  voted  yes,  with  a  grand  list  of  791.93.  The 
Commissioners  reported  a  majority  of  six  votes  and  $90.85  favor- 
ing annexation.  Their  decision  was  contested  on  technicalities, 
but  was  finally  accepted. 

At  a  special  meeting  held  August  29,  at  the  Stanley  Opera 
House,  the  question  was  taken  up  by  residents  of  the  Village. 
The  result  of  balloting  showed  147  in  favor  of  the  annexation, 
144  opposed  to  it.  It  will  be  noticed  that  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  the  vote  was  a  close  one  ;  the  opposition  was  well  defined, 
grounded  on  reasons  that  have  since  lost  much  of  their  force.      It 


502  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

was  soon  apparent  that  the  result  arrived  at  was  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  entire  community.  The  population  of  the  Village 
was  increased  by  about  a  thousand,  and  its  rank  now  became 
third  instead  of  fifth  among  the  Villages  of  the  State. 

With  the  opening  of  the  new  century  came  up  the  proposition 
to  reorganize  from  a  Village  to  a  City.  In  December,  1902,  a 
City  Charter  was  granted  by  the  Legislature,  and  on  January  22, 
1903,  a  meeting  was  held  to  take  action  upon  it.  The  matter  was 
discussed  intelligently  and  ably,  seriously  and  humorously.  Be- 
coming a  City  seemed  to  some  indicative  of  municipal  progress  ; 
whereat  Marshall  Montgomery  wanted  to  know  if  a  boy  was  any 
bigger  for  calling  him  Mister,  instead  of  Bub?  The  question  was 
decided  on  what  was  regarded  as  its  real  merits  by  a  majority 
vote  of  170  against  city  organization. 

STREETS   AND   BUILDINGS 

The  track  opened  thro  the  forest  on  the  Plain  in  1787  by  Dr. 
Arnold  determined  what  is  now  known  as  Main  street.  For  sixty- 
three  years  this  was  the  only  street  on  the  Plain.  As  late  as  1810 
there  were  only  about  a  dozen  houses  on  the  entire  length  of  the 
street ;  of  these  Joseph  Lord's  at  the  south  end  was  two  storied 
and  painted  red  ;  the  only  other  painted  house  was  the  Willard  Carle- 
ton  tavern,  advertised  for  sale  that  year  in  the  North  Star ;  this 
was  the  Cross  bakery  building  taken  down  in  1897  to  give  a  site  for 
St.  Aloysius  Church.  Exits  northward  were  the  road  to  Four  Cor- 
ners, and  down  Sand  Hill  to  the  Arnold  Falls,  thence  up  the  river 
toward  Lyndon.  In  1820  the  street  was  dignified  by  the  erection 
of  the  Paddock  mansion,  the  first  building  of  brick  ;  and  some- 
while  later  by  Capt.  Martin's  house  of  similar  style  on  the  other 
side  of  the  street.  In  1830  the  tavern  stand  at  the  Bend,  Abel 
Rice  proprietor,  was  a  popular  resort  with  a  well  furnished  bar ; 
and  a  meeting  house  had  recently  been  built  where  the  stone 
church  now  is.  In  1840  the  street  had  about  thirty  houses,  no 
new  ones  of  importance.  In  1850  the  expansion  began ;  that 
year  Summer  street  was  laid  out.  Frank  Brown  built  his  small 
house  some  distance  back  of  the  new  St.  Johnsbury  House,  and 
James  M.  Warner  set  his  gothic  cottage  at  the  jumping  off  place 


STREETS  AND  BUILDINGS  503 

where  the  steep  descent  of  Summer  street  runs  down  to  Fair- 
banks Village.  It  is  on  record  that  in  1832  Leonard  Howard  had 
gone  back  into  the  field  and  put  up  a  house  far  away  from  any 
street ;  it  was  more  than  twenty  years  before  a  street  got  to  it ; 
now  it  is  known  as  the  Daniel  Carpenter  house,  15  Church  street. 
Spring  street  was  laid  out  in  1856,  and  the  same  year  a  driveway 
was  opened  up  from  Western  avenue  on  to  the  table  land  of 
South  Park,  where  A.  P.  Blunt  was  building  his  new  square 
house  on  the  northwest  edge  of  the  bluff,  behind  which  in  the 
field  was  the  Harvlin  Paddock  house ;  Park  street  was  not  laid 
out  till  1874.  Cliff  street  was  opened  in  1870 ;  within  two  years 
seven  houses  were  put  up  on  Cliff,  five  on  Autumn,  four  on 
Church,  fifteen  on  Spring  street.  By  this  time  most  of  the  avail- 
able building  ground  on  the  Plain  was  accessible  through  the  new 
street  lines,  except  Boynton  Hill  and  Highland  avenue.  In  1872 
Underclyffe  was  built ;  in  1884  Brantview.  Principal  blocks  at 
the  business  center  date  as  follows  :  Brown's  block,  1850 ;  Union 
block  and  hall,  1854;  Bank  and  Post  Office  block  of  five  sections, 
1869,  built  by  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  at  cost  of  $50,000 ;  the  plan 
was  drawn  for  six  sections,  one  of  which  was  taken  off  to  allow 
fifteen  feet  additional  width  at  the  head  of  Eastern  avenue  ;  the 
length  is  now  134  feet  on  Main  street,  60  feet  on  the  Avenue. 
Passumpsic  Savings  Bank  with  the  Town  Offices,  1885,  also 
during  the  eighties  the  Walker,  Masonic  and  Roach  blocks  com- 
pleting the  row  ;    Fairbanks  block,  now  the  Berry-Ball. 

The  road  to  Fairbanks  Village  along  which  used  to  run  a 
plank  foot  walk,  acquired  the  name  Western  Avenue  when  its 
new  neighbor,  Eastern  Avenue,  was  built  in  1850  ;  two  years  later 
the  Pinehurst  residence  was  built  by  Horace  Fairbanks  on  the 
site  of  the  old  tannery  and  slaughter  house  ;  Elmwoode  house 
took  its  present  form  in  1878,  including  in  its  walls  the  cottage 
built  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks  in  1838.  Among  the  village  streets 
so  called,  ate  the  Belvidere  pitch  into  Western  Avenue  and  the 
Spruce  street  pitch  into  upper  Railroad  street;  people  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  hill  country  are  wont  to  be  shy  of  Sand  Hill  descent 
into  Paddock  Village  and  the  winding  way  exit  off  South  Park. 


504  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Railroad  street  was  newly  opened  and  ready  for  business 
when  the  trains  began  to  run  in  1850,  and  that  summer  Eastern 
Avenue  was  built  across  the  pastures ;  the  only  building  between 
the  Plain  and  Passumpsic  River  was  the  small  farm  house,  old 
even  then,  which  now  sits  at  the  foot  of  Pearl  street,  disguised 
beyond  recognition  by  roof  windows  and  piazzas.  Swamps, 
thickets  and  stumps  held  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  business 
blocks.  A  pioneer  on  the  street  was  the  Passumpsic  House, 
later  known  as  the  Avenue  House ;  this  and  nearly  all  the  earlier 
buildings  on  the  east  side  of  the  street  were  destroyed  by  the 
fires  of  1870,  1892,  1906,  including  the  Cbamberlin  and  Fletcher 
wholesale  block  just  north  of  the  station.  The  first  dwelling 
house  on  Railroad  street  was  Amos  Morrill's,  built  in  1850  ;  Sias 
Randall  the  same  year  paid  $200  for  the  Randall  block  lot.  R. 
B.  Flint  and  L.  C.  Woodbury  opened  one  of  the  first  stores  on 
Railroad  street,  a  grocery  store  and  market ;  William  H.  Horton 
soon  had  a  tailoring  business  there  ;  Samuel  Jewett,  dry  goods  ; 
Aaron  Farnham,  furniture ;  W.  T.  Burnham,  furs.  A  new  road 
ran  up  alongside  the  railroad  track  to  Paddock  Village  ;  that  road 
thirty  years  later  was  widened  and  elevated  into  upper  Railroad 
street.  This  was  made  possible  by  the  washing  away  of  Bagley 
Hill  by  a  stream  of  water  from  the  Village  Water  Works  under 
supervision  of  Beauman  Butler  ;  where  the  old  sand  bank  was, 
we  see  the  line  of  well  built  dwelling  houses  fronting  eastward. 

In  1856  it  was  remarked  that  a  traveler  arriving  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  road  from  Paddock  Village  and  looking  southward, 
would  see  stretching  a  mile  down  the  valley  a  beautiful  street, 
which  might  with  all  propriety  be  called  a  village ;  with  stores 
wholesale  and  retail,  for  hardware,  dry  goods,  groceries,  clothing, 
boots  and  shoes,  drugs,  paints  and  oils.  At  that  time  the  new 
bridge  across  Passumpsic  River  opened  the  way  to  many  and  de- 
sirable building  lots  along  the  broad  fields  and  raspberry  patches 
between  Harris  Hill  and  Moose  River.  "The  New  City"  which 
finally  developed  into  Portland  street  and  Summerville  was  at  its 
beginning ;  the  prospective  growth  in  that  direction  made  Rail- 
road street  yet  more  important  as  a  business  quarter.  Meantime 
the  new  city  began  taking  on  increasing  importance  of  its  own.  It 


ST.  JOHNSBURY  VILLAGE  505 

crept  steadily  eastward  along  Portland  street  and  down  toward 
the  mouth  of  Moose  River;  took  Elyville  into  its  capacious  em- 
brace ;  climbed  up  the  steep  slopes  of  Harris  Hill  ;  till,  standing 
by  itself  alone,  it  ranked  among  the  larger  villages  north  and 
south,  on  the  line  of  Passumpsic  railroad.  Whether  by  reason  of 
its  location  or  temperament  or  training  or  all  of  these  combined, 
Summerville  acquired  a  notable  solidarity  and  civic  consciousness; 
cared  well  for  its  community  affairs,  and  was  in  no  haste  for  the 
annexation  to  Greater  St.  Johnsbury  Village,  which  came  in  1890. 
The  name  originated  with  Capt.  Edwin  L.  Hovey,  who  was  for 
forty  years  an  enthusiastic  promoter  of  its  interests  and  develop- 
ment. 

Until  1840  nearly  all  the  dwelling  houses  on  the  Plain  were 
low-posted  cottages,  painted  white  with  green  blinds,  rarely 
having  anything  like  a  porch  or  piazza,  but  securely  defended 
from  assault  by  a  white  picket  fence.  Quite  a  number  of  these 
old  houses  still  retain  a  standing,  either  pushed  back  into  some 
obscurity  or  so  changed  from  their  former  aspect  as  to  defy 
recognition — see  Dr.  Cramton's  reconstructed  cottage,  100  Main 
street.  A  sample  of  the  original  style,  unchanged  except  as  to 
color  and  windows  pushed  out  on  the  roof,  sits  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street,  second  above  Maple,  where  it  was  planted  by 
Luther  Clark  a  century  and  more  ago  ;  its  mate  at  the  head  of 
Clark  Avenue  built  by  John  Clark  about  the  same  time  has  suffer- 
ed little  from  the  imposition  of  alleged  improvements  and  still 
retains  the  main  features  of  former  time.  A  variation  of  the  pre- 
vailing type  was  brought  in  by  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks  in  1841, 
whose  house  fronting  the  south  end  of  the  street,  introduced  the 
novel  features  of  a  library  room,  parlor  windows  brought  down  to 
the  floor,  and  a  piazza  resting  on  fluted  columns  ;  also  somewhile 
later  the  novelty  of  a  conservatory  for  fruit  and  flower  culture. 
Other  similar  houses  were  built  soon  after  ;  one  was  the  cottage 
south  of  South  Hall  now  quite  disguised  by  red  paint  and  expan- 
sions ;  another  was  the  house  built  by  A.  G.  Chadwick  in  1845 
still  standing  unchanged  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Winter  streets; 
this  cottage  if  not  interfered  with,  has  the  opportunity  of  preserv- 
ing for  future  generations,  a  type  of  village  architecture  quite 
admired  in  its  day. 


xxxvn 


PARKS  AND  TREES 


"Not  only  in  the  city  but  in  our  rural  villages  the  spirit  of  the  age  de- 
mands the  most  approved  artistic  effects  in  the  treatment  of  parks,  trees  and 
shrubbery." 


Arnold  park  What  used  to  be  known  as  "The  Green"  at 
the  head  of  Main  street  was  for  more  than  sixty  years  an  open 
space  without  trees  ;  used  as  the  men's  ball  ground,  as  the  start- 
ing place  for  horse  races,  and  for  June  training,  as  the  rendezvous 
for  public  assemblies  under  a  temporary  bower  or  tent,  and  here 
was  planted  the  first  village  band  stand.  In  the  spring  of  1855 
it  was  enclosed  within  a  fence  and  trees  were  set  out ;  after  this 
it  received  the  name  of  Arnold  Park,  being  situated  front  of  the 
old  Arnold  house;  it  was  part  of  his  original  homestead  lot  made 
over  to  the  town. 

Four  hundred  loads  of  dirt  were  dumped  upon  this  Park  for 
grading  in  1891,  and  residents  of  the  vicinity  erected  the  fountain, 
the  largest  and  most  conspicuous  one  in  the  town,  the  basin 
being  eleven  feet  and  a  half  in  diameter,  the  vase  eleven  feet  and 
seven  inches  above  it,  surmounted  by  a  bronze  figure.  The  ex- 
pense of  this  fountain  was  $400;  it  was  from  the  Mott  Iron 
Works,  N.  Y.  In  1898,  the  fencing  was  removed,  the  west  end 
extended,  and  the  street  cut  thro  direct  to  Boynton  Hill.  The 
two  oak  trees  on  the  north  side  of  Arnold  Park  were  planted 
there  by  Lieut.  Col.  Geo.  E.  Chamberlin  before  he  went  off  to 
the  war. 

MONUMENT    SQUARE  :  COURT     HOUSE    GROUNDS.        Only   those 

who  recall  the  ragged  and  unsightly  aspect  of  the  old  burial  yard, 


PARKS  AND  TREES  507 

can  understand  the  transformation  effected  by  converting  that 
spot  into  ornamental  grounds.  Originally  the  surface  jutted  out 
on  the  north  side  and  went  down  by  a  steep  pitch  into  the  pasture 
where  Eastern  Avenue  now  runs.  The  resident  of  seventy  years 
ago  could  hardly  have  imagined  a  smooth  sloping  turf,  a  statue  of 
America,  twin  cannon  and  a  band  stand  on  the  ground  then  cover- 
ed with  old  fashioned  grave  stones  and  tangled  bushes.  This  en- 
closure, after  all  removals  had  been  made  to  Mt.  Pleasant  Ceme- 
tery, was  quit-claimed  to  the  Village  Trustees,  by  William  C. 
Arnold,  representing  the  heirs  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Arnold,  as  a  site 
for  the  Court  House  and  Town  Hall,  "the  residue  of  said  land  to 
be  used  as  ornamental  public  grounds."  The  date  of  that  instru- 
ment was  January  24,  1856 ;  in  the  spring  of  1857,  the  grading, 
turfing,  and  planting  of  elm  trees  was  completed  ;  the  erection  of 
the  soldiers'  memorial  eleven  years  later  gave  added  dignity  to 
the  grounds,  and  naturally  suggested  the  name  Monument 
Square.  Hundreds  of  men  and  women  cross  it  every  day ;  other 
hundreds  leisurely  sit  on  the  grassy  slope  summer  evenings  ; 
other  hundreds  stand  fronting  the  Avenue  every  time  the  ponies 
and  camels  and  elephants  of  the  circus  are  parading ;  other 
hundreds  promenade  to  the  evening  music  that  sounds  from  the 
band  stand  ;  other  hundreds  gather  silently  around  the  Monument 
while  honors  are  paid  to  the  heroes  of  the  war  on  Memorial  Day. 

ramsey  park  Capt.  James  Ramsey  and  Hiram  Jones  in 
1822  owned  the  mills  at  Arnold  Falls,  and  also  most  of  the  level 
ground,  now  covered  with  buildings  in  Paddock  Village,  includ- 
ing the  central  square.  This  last  they  conveyed  to  the  village 
for  public  ground ;  the  square  was  called  Ramsey  Park  and  the 
road  around  it  Jones  street.  It  remained  for  a  long  time  an  open 
square  used  for  sports  and  pleasure  ground  ;  then  it  was  fenced, 
and  in  1891  trees  were  planted  and  the  fountain  set  in  by  the  Vil- 
lage Trustees. 

central  park  :  school  common  The  open  grounds  between 
Main  and  Summer  streets,  fronting  the  School  House  were  deed- 
ed to  School  District  No.  1,  November  28,  1863,  by  Charles  S. 
Dana,  Esq.,  for  a  consideration  of  $1200,  "to  have  and  to  hold, 
etc.,  on  condition  that  no  building  be  erected  on  any  part  of  said 


508  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

granted  premises ;  that  they  be  occupied,  improved  and  orna- 
mented solely  and  exclusively  for  a  public  park  and  promenade, 
for  public  amusements,  plays  or  meetings  ;  excluding  from  it  cir- 
cuses, shows,  menageries  and  similar  exhibitions  which  are  here- 
by prohibited."  In  June  1864,  the  ground  was  graded  and  called 
Central  Park.  Its  ordinary  designation  is  the  school  common, 
and  being  mainly  used  for  play  grounds,  the  walks  and  lawns 
are  not  as  trimly  kept  as  on  the  other  village  parks. 

south  park  This  tract  was  deeded  as  a  gift  to  the  Village, 
April  10,  1877  by  the  heirs  of  the  estate  of  Joseph  P.  Fairbanks  ; 
subject  to  the  conditions  that  "no  buildings  shall  ever  be  erected 
or  placed  on  said  described  grounds  ;  that  no  tents  or  booths 
shall  be  placed  on  said  land  for  exhibitions,  circuses  or  shows  of 
any  kind ;  that  said  land  shall  never  be  used  for  ball  playing,  and 
that  said  land  shall  always  be  suitably  enclosed  and  cared  for  as 
an  ornamental  Park,  by  said  village. "  The  conditions  were  ac- 
cepted ;  the  rail  guard  that  enclosed  it  from  the  first,  stood 
until  in  later  years  the  prevailing  usage  of  doing  away  with 
fences  and  rails  in  the  village  led  to  its  removal.  The  spacious 
area  and  level  floor  of  South  Park  make  its  well  trimmed  lawn  a 
noticeable  feature  among  our  public  grounds. 

academy  park  This  little  parcel  which  now  belongs  to  the 
Academy  by  deed  of  Henry  Fairbanks,  April  16,  1894,  was  known 
forty  years  earlier  as  South  Park.  In  those  days  there  was  no 
Woman's  Club,  but  sundry  women  in  that  part  of  the  Village  con- 
stituted themselves  a  working  body,  got  paint  pots  and  brushes 
and  with  their  own  hands  laid  a  coat  of  paint  on  the  enclosing 
rail,  to  the  great  entertainment  of  the  appreciative  public.  That 
painted  rail  disappeared  long  ago  ;  now  the  principal  feature  is 
the  fountain  with  boy  and  dolphin,  erected  by  the  Academy  class 
of  1890.     Here  was  the  bottomless  well  of  1829 — see  page  300. 

the  triangle  that  pitches  from  the  head  of  Summer  street 
toward  Hastings  Hill  was  taken  hold  of  in  the  spring  of  1903  by 
the  Woman's  Club,  and  fitted  with  granite  curbing  at  an  expense 
of  $100.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  the  Trustees  erected  a  heavy 
rail.     This  was  removed  in  1912. 


PARKS  AND  TREES  509 

the  depot  park  is  characterized  by  extreme  narrowness 
and  steepness,  by  the  Music  Stand,  and  by  the  lettering  st. 
johnsbury,  set  by  the  Woman's  Club  in  the  turf  that  slopes 
toward  the  incoming  trains. 

In  1891,  there  was  an  expenditure  of  $1141  on  the  Village 
Parks  for  grading  and  improvements.  The  Trustees  in  1898 
placed  settees  on  South  and  Arnold  Parks,  and  the  Woman's  Club 
provided  them  the  same  year  for  Monument  Square. 

TREES 

"He  went  up  to  the  tree  and  put  his  arm  around  it,  saying,  as  if  some 
sacred  association  touched  his  memory — my  dear  old  friend,  how  doyou  do?" 

The  first  thing  to  do  for  our  village  was  to  get  rid  of  the 
trees  ;  the  next  was  to  get  in  some  trees,  the  next  is  to  thin  out 
the  trees.  In  the  summer  of  1787  Jonathan  Arnold  and  his  five 
men  cleared  off  the  trees  from  the  street ;  in  the  spring  of  1841  a 
posse  of  men  answering  a  popular  call  assembled  on  The  Green 
at  the  head  of  the  street,  with  spades  and  hoes  for  transplanting 
trees.  No  record  of  their  doings  is  found.  On  the  24th  of  April, 
1855,  the  Ornamental  Tree  Association  was  formed,  with  one 
dollar  as  the  price  of  membership.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  direct  the  work ;  probably  it  was  this  Committee  that  placed 
the  first  trees  on  the  Green,  now  Arnold  Park  ;  but  already  at 
that  time  other  transplanted  trees  were  making  thrifty  growth. 
The  row  of  elms  front  of  the  Paddock  homestead,  were  set  there 
for  the  Judge  by  Ezra  Davidson  of  Waterford  some  time  before 
1830;  those  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  front  and  north  of 
Capt.  Martin's,  were  planted  by  William  C.  Arnold  a  little  later. 

The  first  trees  known  to  have  been  transplanted  into  the  vil- 
lage were  the  maples  front  of  the  old  burial  ground,  and  at  inter- 
vals along  the  upper  end  of  the  street,  east  side.  William  A. 
Palmer,  afterwards  Gov.  Palmer,  brought  these  maples  in  from 
the  woods  on  his  back  when  they  were  saplings,  about  the  year 
1821.  In  1850,  some  twenty  of  them  were  standing ;  the  last  sur- 
vivor was  wrecked  by  a  storm,  1892,  in  Major  Bowman's  yard  op- 
posite Arnold  Park;  the  gavel  of  the  Woman's  Club,  also  of  the 
Seventy  Club,  was  made  from  wood  of  this  old  tree. 


510  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Fifty  years  or  more  after  Gov.  Palmer's  maples  were  set, 
Cyrus  Sargent  began  to  bring  in  young  elms  which  he  planted  on 
Spring  and  Cliff  streets  recently  opened.  This  was  the  kind  of 
recreation  he  indulged  in  mornings  and  evenings  ;  others  in  that 
neighborhood  did  the  same.  In  the  spring  of  1877,  the  Village 
Trustees  voted  to  procure  a  hundred  more  shade  trees  ;  these 
must  have  been  for  new  streets  as  the  congestion  of  shade  was 
already  apparent  elsewhere.  On  the  older  streets  it  is  only  when 
the  leaves  are  off  that  the  multitude  of  trees  show  to  best  advan- 
tage either  en-masse  or  as  individuals.  Then  one  sees  the  per- 
sonality of  the  fine  old  elms  on  upper  Main  street,  or,  from  the 
head  of  Summer  street  looks  down  the  long  line  of  outspreading 
tree  tops  that  set  their  gothic  arch  against  the  western  hills. 

Someone  in  Brattleboro  one  time  sent  Judge  Poland  a  pair 
of  white  poplars.  "They  were  about  as  large  as  my  walking 
stick/'  said  the  Judge,  "and  about  as  dry."  But  they  made  a  lusty 
growing  pair  of  twins  front  of  Squire  Belden's  house,  and  till  this 
year  the  big  survivor  with  triple  trunk  invited  attention  in  Squire 
Nichols'  dooryard.  Probably  the  largest  tree  now  flourishing  in 
the  township  is  the  willow  on  the  west  side  of  Rabbit  Plain  above 
Goss  Hollow.  Once  a  brown  ash  was  growing  near  the  swamp 
where  the  Pinehurst  lily  ponds  are  now ;  that  ash  is  today  the 
only  tree  among  the  groves  of  that  estate  that  has  the  distinction 
of  being  a  native,  "and  to  the  manner  born."  It  may  have  been 
during  the  Polk  and  Clay  campaign  that  a  pair  of  elm  seeds  flew 
down  under  the  edge  of  the  high  tight  fence  which  then  enclosed 
the  Academy  grounds.  The  soil  was  rich,  the  fence  was  shelter- 
ing ;  in  the  course  of  years  the  saplings  twisted  themselves  into 
a  double  elm  that  took  on  stalwart  proportions  and  ways  of  its 
own ;  stretched  out  arms  that  were  angular  and  not  unshapely  ; 
by  its  striking  contour  and  willowy  droop  and  broad  outspread  of 
nigh  a  hundred  feet  won  its  place  as  the  queenliest  elm  on  our 
bowered  Plain. 

"Again  I  see  the  huge  Old  Pine  with  patriarchal  air 
Spreading  wide  his  arms  as  if  to  guard  the  forest  there." 

the  old  pine  on  the  hilltop  above  the  golf  links,  now  the 
vanishing  ghost  of  a  tree,  was  for  a  hundred  years  the  most  dis- 


PARKS  AND  TREES  511 

tinguished  tree  in  the  town,  not  only  as  sole  survivor  of  the 
primeval  forest,  but  as  the  most  conspicuous  landmark  on  the 
horizon.  From  the  time  the  pioneers'  axes  first  broke  into  the 
wilderness  till  down  past  1890,  it  was  flourishing  as  in  the  vigor 
of  youth  ;  then  one  day  it  was  hurt  by  a  lightning  stroke.  Col. 
Fairbanks  re-assured  it  with  the  modern  device  of  a  lightning  rod. 
But  the  mischief  had  been  done,  its  vitality  was  sapped.  We 
looked  anxiously  up  at  the  old  sentinel,  sorry  to  see  that  decline 
and  fall  must  surely  come ;  if  the  Old  Pine  should  go,  there  never 
could  be  another.  It  seemed  as  if  the  old  fellow  thought  so  too  ; 
he  surprised  his  admirers  by  holding  on  with  grim  determination. 
And  now  for  some  fourteen  years  since  being  shorn  of  his 
greenery,  his  gaunt  trunk  has  stood  up  against  the  sky  like  a 
spectre  from  former  ages — to  which  in  1912  the  grand  finale 
march  of  the  Pageant  wound  its  way,  as  if  to  pay  homage  to  the 
venerable  Patriarch  of  the  town. 

"Towering  high  above  all  other  trees 
Thou  giant  Pine  of  many  centuries, 
With  thy  dead  limbs  outstretched  against  the  sky, 
Storm-tossed  and  stricken  by  the  lightning's  blast, 
What  canst  thou  tell  us  of  the  days  long  past  ?" 

Some  answer  to  this  was  overheard  by  a  woman  who  had 
personally  known  the  veteran  almost  a  hundred  years,  and  she 
translated  what  the  Old  Pine  Tree  said — "Here  I  have  stood  three 
centuries  or  more,  head  and  shoulders  above  my  neighbors — in 
my  early  days  I  saw  nothing  but  wild  beasts  and  birds — bears, 
wolves,  deer,  panthers,  and  the  moose  with  broad  horns — the 
loon  and  wild  geese  went  screaming  over  my  head — next  I  saw 
Indians  clothed  in  fur  with  their  bows  and  arrows — I  could  see 
the  smoke  of  their  wigwams  curling  up  through  the  forest — then 
the  white  men  came — they  cut  down  my  big  neighbors  and  built 
them  houses  to  live  in — they  cleared  the  forest  and  burned  trees 
to  make  potash  which  they  sold  for  groceries,  and  I  fear  too  for 
whiskey  sometimes — then  they  sowed  the  cleared  fields  with 
grain,  and  built  roads  and  bridges,  and  after  a  long  time  they  had 
a  church — now  I  can  see  a  dozen  churches,  and  many  fine  resi- 
dences— I  hear  the  whistles  and  see  long  trains  of  cars — the  gong 


512  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

down  to  the  right  of  me  calls  hundreds  of  men  together  to  manu- 
facture the  wonderful  scales  known  the  wide  world  over — now  I 
am  old — one  day  I  got  an  electric  shock  which  gave  me  my 
death  blow — I  am  only  waiting  now  for  the  north  wind's  blast  to 
lay  me  low,  to  be  remembered  no  more  forever." 

C.  B.  S.  1898 
After  waiting  seven  years  longer,  the  Old  Pine,  still  erect  on 
the  hilltop,  was  in  a  reminiscent  mood  one  day ;   heard  again  the 
harp  of  the  winds  and  felt  tlie  grapple  of  the  storm : — 

"Under  my  gray-green  mantle, 
Jewelled  with  sleet  or  rain, 
Was  hid  a  harp  that  murmured 
Forever  of  the  main. 

The  breeze  from  Newark  mountain 

Bore  down  a  song  to  me  ; 
I  sang  it  to  Moosehillock 

And  he  sang  it  to  the  sea. 

Down  Sleeper's  River  valley 

And  up  the  woodlands  dim, 
The  summer  twilight  hearkened 

The  holy  thrush's  hymn. 

*  *  *  * 

All  the  sinews  that  sustained  me, 

All  the  sap  that  kept  me  warm, 
I  had  sucked  from  sand  and  snow  heap, 

Or  had  wrested  from  the  storm. 

Rain  and  snow  and  hail  were  welcome, 

All  the  gales  were  loud  with  glee  ; 
All  the  strain  and  stress  of  winter 

Was  but  ecstasy  to  me. 

When  the  big  wind  of  December 

Blustered  down  from  Walden  height, 

I  rubbed  all  my  hands  together 
Knit  my  muscles  for  the  fight. 

Year  by  year  I  flung  my  banner 

For  a  standard  seen  of  all ; 
Stood,  a  king  above  my  fellows 

Like  a  crowned  and  sceptered  Saul. 

Then,  unwarned,  the  lightning  smote  me, 
And  I  stand,  discrowned  and  blind. 

Waiting  for  my  strength  to  leave  me, 

Or  the  tempest  to  be  kind."  W.  P.  S.  1905 

Another  seven  years,  and  the  Old  Pine  is  still  waiting.     1912 


XXXVIII 


COSMIC  EVENTS  AND  DISASTERS 


ECLIPSE— COMET — COLD— HEAT  —  AURORA  —  SNOW  —  DROUGHT 
STORMS — FLOODS — FIRES 


THE    WEATHER 


"What  an  invaluable  piece  of  good  luck  to  have  the  weather  always  with 
us — always  ready  to  be  talked  about  when  a  body  meets  a  body,  and  never 
anybody  embarrassed  by  not  knowing  anything  about  it." 


Some  metereological  occurrences  are  here  noted  which  occa- 
sioned comment  and  went  on  record  in  the  former  days.  Local 
reference  is  found  to  two  phenomena  of  a  century  ago.  In  1810 
there  was  a  solar  eclipse;  "hens  went  to  roost,  cattle  appeared 
dumbfoundered,  a  solemn  and  anxious  suspense  prevailed  as  if  ex- 
pecting some  great  calamity."  In  1811  the  great  comet  illumined 
the  heavens  for  ninety  days,  "Its  prodigious  tail  swept  50  de- 
grees of  the  skies ;  threads  of  light  from  the  nucleus  streamed 
down  its  immense  length  and  curved  at  the  end  into  a  vast 
luminous  arch." 

The  cold  summer  of  1816.  Apparently  this  town  was  not  so 
great  a  sufferer  as  some  others  during  that  extraordinary  season. 
It  stands  on  record  that  "snow  was  ten  inches  deep  in  Vermont 
in  June,  ice  thick  as  window  glass  in  July,  and  an  inch  thick  in 
August."  But  Henry  Little  says  that  in  St.  Johnsbury  he  trained 
with  his  Company  on  Major  Butler's  green,  the  first  Tuesday  in 


514  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

June,  and  found  the  day  too  warm  for  the  required  military  ac- 
coutrements ;  and  the  day  after  was  decidedly  hot.  The  change 
was  sudden,  for  Chauncey  Spaulding  clad  in  tow  trousers  and 
cotton  shirt,  while  planting  potatoes  with  James  Works,  was 
driven  from  the  field  by  the  wild  snow  squall. 

The  following  days,  June  7  to  11,  were  gloomy,  dark  and 
cold  with  snow  flying  and  the  ground  frozen.  Later  in  the  month 
however  corn,  potatoes,  peas,  buckwheat,  beans  and  turnips  were 
planted,  but  the  continuous  cold  prevented  the  maturing  of  any 
crops,  except  a  very  little  poor  corn  and  potatoes.  Wheat  and 
corn  were  brought  into  town  and  sold  at  $2.50  a  bushel.  James 
Works  brought  up  a  lot  of  corn  on  flatboats  from  Charlestown  No. 
4,  which  sold  at  $3.00  cash  down.  A  few  small  unripe  potatoes 
could  be  had  in  Waterford  for  75  cents  a  bushel.  "Oatmeal,  rice 
and  boiled  beech  leaves  (nuts?)  were  in  use  as  food." 

For  the  next  planting  in  June  1817,  seed  corn  of  1815  was 
used  at  $5.00  a  bushel  and  little  to  be  had  even  at  that  price. 
This  condition  of  things  that  our  fathers  then  went  through  is  a 
reminder  of  the  year  1204,  of  which  the  Fabyan  Chronycle  says  : — 

"in  this  yeare,  that  is  to  saye,  ye  Vth  yere  of  Kyng  John,  by  reason  of 
ye  unreasonable  weder,  whete  was  solde  for  XV  shilling  a  quarter." 

1829  The  last  week  in  December  was  soft  and  mild  ;  there 
was  no  frost,  grass  was  green  as  if  growing ;  men  were  doing 
out  door  work  without  gloves.  During  this  pleasant  week  the 
large  building  for  the  new  hemp  works  was  put  up  at  the  Fair- 
banks Mills  ;  it  was  in  the  operating  of  the  hemp  works  that  the 
first  platform  scale  was  afterward  devised  and  constructed. 

1834  May  15  Heavy  snow  fall  today.  "I  was  sent  to  look 
up  some  sheep  that  had  strayed  far  up  Saddle  Back;  snow  there 
was  nearly  a  foot  deep." 

1842  June  17  A  snow  fall  of  several  inches  ;  but  corn  and 
beans  in  the  garden  came  thro  all  right.  On  the  20th  of 
October,  18  inches  of  snow  fell  and  remained  till  the  next  spring. 
Potatoes  caught  in  the  ground  by  this  snow  came  out 
sound   and   good   in   the    spring.       Between     November   9   and 


COSMIC  EVENTS  515 

February  1  there  were  30  snow  storms  which  deposited  12  feet  of 
snow.     This  was  the  season  of  the  fatal  erysipelas. 

1851  A  very  distinct  lunar  rainbow  was  seen  at  nine  o'clock 
September  5,  spanning  the  sky  in  the  west  opposite  the  rising 
moon. 

1852  During  the  past  winter  there  were  35  big  snow  storms  in 
St.  Johnsbury  ;  7  in  November,  in  December,  in  March  ;  8  in  Jan- 
uary, and  6  in  February. 

1854  The  comet  now  in  view  is  so  amiable  and  modest  that 
none  of  the  Millerites  have  ventured  to  predict  the  end  of  the 
world  from  any  antics  it  may  perform. 

1855  Jan.  14  Earthquake,  with  explosions  in  the  skies  like 
the  bursting  of  balls  with  fire  inside. 

1856  July  12  A  fierce  hail  storm,  with  high  north  wind. 
All  the  north  windows  in  the  Center  Village  reported  broken,  hail 
stones  from  six  to  ten  inches  in  circumference.  The  hail  stones 
lay  in  deep  windrows  under  fences  where  they  might  have  been 
shoveled  up  by  the  cartload.  Acres  of  timber  were  blown  down 
and  crops  destroyed  ;  the  damage  in  this  town  was  reckoned  at 
$20,000. 

1858  Donati's  comet  reproduced  the  splendor  of  the  comet 
of  1811  referred  to  on  page  513. 

1861  April  5  The  brilliant  aurora  threw  a  belt  of  light 
from  one  horizon  to  the  other,  making  a  perfect  arch  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  90  degrees. 

Note.  This  was  surpassed  by  the  aurora  of  February  7, 
1902,  when  the  northern,  southern  and  western  heavens  were  an 
aerial  sea  of  flame  as  if  an  entire  city  were  on  fire ;  the  colors 
slowly  fading  from  red  to  brown,  to  violet,  to  purple,  to  blue,  to 
a  pale  ashen  hue. 

1862  On  New  Year's  Day  fourteen  inches  of  snow  with 
driving  wind.  A  St.  Johnsbury  farmer  had  to  tunnel  thro  a  drift 
as  big  as  his  barn  to  get  at  his  cattle. 

1868  On  the  twelfth  of  March  a  good  sized  grasshopper  was 
hopping  contentedly  over  H.  N.  Roberts'  farm,  and  a  frisky  but- 
terfly flew  into  an  open  window  on  Summer  street. 


516  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

1868  The  Fourth  of  July  was  celebrated  with  warmth.  On 
this  and  the  following  day  the  temperature  ranged  from  100  to 
103  degrees.  In  the  Fairbanks  foundry  mercury  stood  at  135  de- 
grees and  all  work  was  suspended.  Masons  who  were  laying  the 
foundations  of  the  Athenaeum  quit  work.  In  Goss  Hollow  a  man 
died  in  the  hay  field.  This  heat  was  followed  by  an  electric 
storm.  Two  balls  of  electric  fire  were  seen  to  fall  on  Frank 
Brown's  store,  doing  considerable  damage.  No  such  heat  had 
been  known  by  the  oldest  resident  of  the  town. 

Note.  Similar  conditions  prevailed  July  4-12,  1911,  during 
which  period  the  mercury  averaged  about  100°  at  mid-day  for 
nine  days,  on  one  of  which  it  registered  115°  in  the  forenoon. 
Work  was  suspended  at  the  foundries  for  two  days. 

1869  Three  days  heavy  rains,  October  3,  4  and  5,  with  six 
inches  rain  fall,  resulting  in  the  great  flood  of  1869,  an  account  of 
which  is  given  farther  on. 

1870  Three  inches  of  dirty  snow  fell  on  the  twelfth  day  of 
February.  This  snow  contained  three  grains  of  meteoric  dust  to 
the  square  foot ;  equal  to  360  lbs.  to  the  square  mile.  The  storm 
covered  400  square  miles,  and  is  computed  to  have  laid  7200 
pounds  of  meteoric  dust  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

1870  During  the  summer  there  were  thunder  showers  nearly 
every  day.  On  the  twentieth  of  July  mercury  stood  at  100  degrees 
in  the  shade — 133  degrees  in  the  sunlight. 

1870  At  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.  of  October  20,  the  community 
was  startled  by  an  earthquake,  the  most  violent  shake  ever  known 
in  the  town.  There  was  alarm  everywhere  ;  consternation  in  the 
Union  School  from  which  the  children  swarmed  out  as  the  heavy 
brick  building  rocked  on  its  foundations.  The  South  Church 
steeple  was  seen  to  sway  to  and  fro  as  if  it  were  a  reed  shaken  by 
the  wind.  Door  bells  rang,  crockery  rattled  and  crashed;  no 
serious  damage  however  was  done. 

1871  The  month  of  February,  this  year,  recorded  tempera- 
ture at  40  degrees  below  zero  ;  also  thunderstorms,  grasshoppers 
and  butterflies. 


COSMIC  EVENTS  517 

1872-1873  The  snow  fall  this  winter  was  fourteen  feet,  lack- 
ing one  inch.  Hiram  Cutting  reckoned  the  average  snow  fall  of 
this  region  to  be  from  three  to  fourteen  feet;  not  all  on  the 
ground  at  one  time. 

1873  There  was  less  than  half  the  usual  rainfall  during  the 
warm  season.  Pastures  and  fields  were  dried  up  and  barren; 
Passumpsic  River  never  so  low  before  ;  Moose  River  was  only  a 
small  brook;  the  worst  drought  ever  known. 

1874  On  the  twenty-fourth  of  April,  a  blizzard  of  36  hours 
and  eight  inches  of  snow.  Nearly  three  feet  of  snow  remained 
on  the  ground  till  the  first  of  May. 

1875  During  the  second  week  in  February  the  mercury 
ranged  on  successive  days  at  20,  30,  24,  23,  30,  34  degrees  below 
zero.  On  the  first  day  of  May,  this  year,  the  ground  was  frozen 
to  the  depth  of  seven   feet  and  three  inches  on  Main  street. 

1878  New  Year's  Day.  Pansies  blossoming  in  gardens  on 
the  Plain,  pussy  willows  in  fur  coats  on  the  meadow,  sap  running 
in  maple  trees  on  the  hillside.  Before  the  middle  of  the  month, 
mercury  at  22  degrees,  30  degrees,  40  degrees  below  zero. 

1878  Nov.  29  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  notable 
Sun  Dog  appeared,  20  degrees  from  the  zenith ;  a  bright  and 
perfect  circle. 

"Walking  forth  this  frosty  morning  on  an  errand  in  the  town 

I  came  aware  of  ice  upon  the  sidewalk  by  unexpectedly  sitting  down." 

Jan.  28, 1886 

1887  Jan.  6  A  particularly  luminous  Sun  Dog  appeared 
today,  attracting  much  attention  and  many  prophecies  of  storms 
and  dire  disasters. 

1888  June  7  A  cyclone  swept  across  the  Plain  and  Rail- 
road street.  Two  heavily  charged  clouds  met  directly  overhead 
at  4.30  in  the  afternoon.  First  darkness,  then  hurricane  winds 
from  east  and  west  which  grappled  each  other  over  the  village. 
Some  roofs  were  torn  off ;  the  granite  sheds  were  collapsed  ;  win- 
dows were  blown  in ;  trees  blown  down ;  William  Clement  lost 
350  full  grown  trees.     On  Portland  street  a  blacksmith  shop  was 


518  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

demolished,  killing  and  burying  a  horse  that  was  waiting  to  be 
shod.  On  Summer  street  A.  E.  Sanborn's  hen  house  was  laid 
low,  but  the  hen  inside,  engaged  in  sitting,  continued  to  sit,  the 
hailstones  did  not  drive  her  from  the  post  of  duty. 

Reports  of  this  storm  having  reached  Minnesota,  the  St.  Paul 
News  remarked:  "Last  week  a  cyclone  passed  over  St.  Johns- 
bury,  Vt.,  which  makes  all  western  tornadoes  appear  tame  as 
gentle  breezes  whispering  to  the  young  spring  leaves.  Trees 
were  rooted  up,  huge  beams  crashed  thro  the  roofs  of  houses,  in- 
numerable buildings  were  totally  destroyed.  Small  boys  were 
lifted  like  kites  on  a  windy  day  and  carried  over  hill  and  dale,  till 
catching  hold  of  high  tree  tops  they  managed  to  bring  their  aerial 
transportation  to  a  termination"?  ?  ? 

FLOODS   AND    FIRES 

"Wherein  I  spake  of  most  disastrous  chances 
Of  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  fire." 

Flood  of  1828  On  Friday,  September  5,  heavy  rains 
swelled  the  West  Branch  and  washed  away  five  bridges  and  sev- 
eral mills  on  the  stream,  including  the  works  of  the  Fairbanks 
Brothers,  which  only  a  few  months  before  had  been  rebuilt  after 
a  disastrous  fire.  The  violence  of  the  waters  was  so  great  at  this 
time  that  a  clothier's  screw  press  weighing  four  hundred  pounds, 
was  swept  down  the  stream  and  lodged  on  the  meadow  nearly 
half  a  mile  below  :  see  page  186. 

Flood  of  1866  The  high  water  of  April  25,  flooded  the 
streets  and  swept  off  the  lower  bridge  across  the  Passumpsic  at 
Center  Village,  two  Moose  River  bridges  and  one  on  Sleeper's 
River.  It  also  tore  away  the  mill  dam  on  Passumpsic  River,  east 
of  the  railroad  station,  which  had  been  rebuilt  only  seven  years 
before.  This  shut  down  the  Miller  Carriage  factory,  Thompson's 
foundry  and  machine  shop,  Carpenter's  wood  shop,  Warner's 
mowing  machine  shop  and  the  Nutt  file  works. 

Flood  of  1869  A  storm  of  thirty  hours'  duration,  October  2 
and  3,  proved  the  most  disastrous  ever  known  in  the  town.      Pas- 


FLOODS  AND  FIRES  519 

sumpsic  River  at  the  Center  Village  was  two  and  a  half  feet 
higher  than  any  former  record  ;  streets  and  houses  were  flooded  ; 
railroad  tracks  were  washed  away  ;  trains  were  stopped ;  for  five 
days  there  was  no  mail  from  the  south ;  on  the  fifth  day  Post- 
master Fleetwood  set  out  with  a  mail  of  1600  letters  which  he 
proposed  in  some  way  to  get  delivered  at  White  River  Junction. 

On  Sleepers  River  "the  turbid  waters  were  floating  timbers, 
trees,  logs,  wagons,  horse  powers  and  endless  other  miscellany ; 
soon  the  cry  was  heard:  'the  bridge  is  coming  !'  and  like  a  duck 
on  the  water,  came  sailing  down  the  lumber  yard  bridge  ;  it 
broke  thro  the  highway  bridge,  pitched  over  the  dam,  took  out 
the  next  bridge  with  a  crash  and  hurried  on ;  for  a  time  it  was 
held  at  the  foundry  bridge  till  a  broadside  of  the  castings'  shop 
struck  it  and  all  went  down  the  stream.  In  the  new  brick  engine 
house,  the  engine  was  submerged  ;  east  of  this  was  the  scale 
packing  shop,  originally  the  grist  mill  built  by  Joseph  Fairbanks  in 
1815,  and  the  only  survivor  of  early  times  ;  under  the  force  of  the 
flood  it  tottered  and  fell  with  a  terrific  crash  and  was  carried  off. 
Startling  events  were  following  each  other  with  fearful  rapidity, 
while  hundreds  of  men  stood  powerless  to  avert  further  calamity. 
The  power  of  the  waters  was  seen  in  the  floating  down  stream  of 
a  600  pound  lot  of  iron  gearing.  The  work  of  cleaning  up  next 
day  was  a  sorry  spectacle,  tools  and  machinery  full  of  mud  which 
lay  in  places  two  feet  deep  on  the  floor."     Loss  was  $50,000. 

"When  the  flood  was  at  its  highest,  amusement  was  created 
by  an  old  breeding  sow  that  came  floating  down  the  current,  stern 
first,  but  paddling  as  for  dear  life,  up  the  stream,  her  nose  resting 
on  a  plank.  She  went  over  the  dam  and  out  of  sight ;  supposed 
to  be  drowned.  Toward  night  a  Frenchman  came  driving  her 
home,  as  lively  as  ever  and  a  good  deal  cleaner  ;  he  had  found 
her  down  on  the  meadow,  pulled  her  out,  shaken  her  hind  legs  till 
finally  she  came  to,  a  soberer  and  cleaner  hog." 

Floods  of  1896  On  the  eleventh  of  May  meadows  and  fields 
along  the  Passumpsic  valley  were  turned  into  wide  spreading 
ponds.  As  the  train  was  coming  in  from  the  east  the  locomotive 
St.  Johnsbury  sagged  and  finally  rolled  over  into  Moose  River  on 
the    Hovey   meadow.      For  nearly  a  week,  owing  to  a  serious 


520  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

break  in  the  dump,  trains  from  the  south  were  not  able  to  run 
above  Passumpsic  Village. 

On  the  first  day  of  March  this  year  was  the  biggest  ice  pack 
ever  known  in  the  town.  Forty  acres  of  ice  covered  the  Butler 
meadows,  in  some  places  several  layers  deep  ;  the  highway  to 
the  Center  Village  was  blocked,  and  the  road  commissioner  had  a 
passage  cut  thro ;  the  ice  stood  four  to  six  feet  high  as  a  wall  on 
either  side.  Houses  in  the  Center  Village  were  flooded,  five 
families  were  turned  outdoors  ;  one  woman  was  brought  out  in  a 
boat  over  four  feet  of  water.  The  same  conditions  of  ice  and 
flood  and  the  drowning  out  of  families  on  Elm  street  near  Moose 
River,  inspired  some  versifying  a  la  habitant: 

'  'Ma  golly  !  You  otter  see  de  ice  come  float  him  down 
On  de  reever  dis  mornin'  rat  in  to  de  town. 
Gret  beeg  cake  come  float  him  in  here, 
An'  make  awful  noise  mos'  like  I  never  did  hear." 


All  dese  time  de  water  rose  him  high 
An'  beeg  cakes  ice  come  float  him  by, 
An'  strike  him  hard  on  Peet  pig  pen 
An'  hees  pig  make  loud  sqneel — " 


Flood  of  1897  At  noon,  July  24,  looking  up  North  Danville 
road,  one  saw  a  wide  lake  of  water ;  broken  bridges,  dams,  logs, 
and  other  debris  swept  down  upon  the  highway  bridge.  There  was 
liability  of  a  repetition  of  the  flood  of  1869,  which  did  $50,000 dam- 
age to  the  scale  works.  But  the  bridge  withstood  the  shock  ;  tho 
the  foundry  bridge  was  swept  off  and  water  ran  four  feet  deep  thro 
the  blacksmith  and  machine  shops  and  the  foundries,  depositing 
generous  layers  of  mud.  Four  bridges  went  off  on  the  Sleeper's 
River,  and  a  strip  of  land  was  gullied  out  from  the  south  side  of 
the  Academy  Campus.  Similar  results  on  this  river  followed  the 
flood  of  June  1902,  with  damages  of  $1500  at  the  scale  works. 

FIRES 

The  old  Hezekiah  Martin  house  was  burned  in  September 
1858,  with  a  loss  of  $5700  to   Moses  Kittredge,  the  owner  and 


FLOODS  AND  FIRES  521 

occupant  at  that  time.  This  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  village  as 
well  as  to  the  family,  sweeping  off  one  of  the  finest  residences  on 
upper  Main  street,  a  stately  brick  building  of  Colonial  style 
similar  to  the  Judge  Paddock  house  and  erected  in  1825  by  the 
same  builder.  The  hall  attached  to  this  house  was  the  home  of 
the  St.  Johnsbury  Female  Academy  during  the  seventeen  years 
of  its  existence.  The  entire  wiping  out  of  this  interesting  land- 
mark is  a  matter  of  lasting  regret ;  the  more  so,  if,  as  believed 
at  the  time,  it  was  the  work  of  an  incendiary. 

In  1859,  the  old  red  mill  belonging  to  what  was  then  called 
Elyville  on  Moose  River  was  destroyed  by  fire.  This  structure, 
said  to  have  been  built  by  the  Fairbanks  Company,  was  used  by 
the  Ely  Hoe  and  Fork  Works,  an  old  and  conspicuous  landmark. 
In  July  of  the  next  year  fire  again  broke  out  at  midnight  and 
destroyed  property  valued  at  $5500  at  these  Works.  To  reach 
the  place,  the  fire  companies  had  to  drag  their  engines  across  the 
Plain,  down  Sand  Hill,  thro  Paddock  Village,  but  they  arrived  in 
time  to  save  three  important  buildings,  and  won  applause  for 
their  prompt  and  effective  performance.  The  Ely  Works  met 
with  almost  total  loss  again  by  fire  at  midnight,  in  July,  1895  ; 
considerable  damage  was  done  by  the  flames  in  1912. 

The  Railroad  Repair  Shops  were  burned  March  23,  1866, 
with  a  loss  of  $75,000.  Machine  shop,  blacksmith  and  wood 
shops,  with  machinery  and  tools  a  total  loss.  The  old  "Cale- 
donia," one  of  the  first  locomotives  on  the  road,  escaped  tho 
badly  burnt.  For  a  time  the  freight  and  passenger  stations  were 
in  extreme  danger. 

April  16,  1870  Fire  broke  out  at  midnight  that  destroyed 
the  Colby,  Burnham  and  Woodbury  buildings  on  Railroad  street, 
north  of  Randall's  block.  Loss,  $17,000.  The  wind  was  strong 
from  the  south  and  burning  cinders  fired  roofs  on  Maple  street 
and  dry  grass  and  leaves  in  Paddock  Village. 

The  Scale  Factory  Fire,  Jan.  21,  1876  At  five  o'clock,  after- 
noon, a  cinder  dropped  into  the  vat  of  japan ;  the  result  was  a 
raging  fire  that  threatened  destruction  to  the  entire  works,  the 
wind  blowing  a  gale  from  the  west.     All  the  hydrants,  two  steam 


$22  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

pumps  and  two  engines  played  streams  of  water;  hundreds  of 
yards  of  new  carpeting  from  the  store  were  spread  over  the  saw 
shop,  boiler  and  engine  house  ;  on  the  roof  of  the  benzine  maga- 
zine hosemen  stood  five  hours  battling  the  flames  inch  by  inch.  A 
special  train  from  Lyndonville  brought  relays  of  firemen  who 
took  the  places  of  those  who  succumbed  to  cold,  smoke  or  exhaus- 
tion ;  coffee  was  served  to  the  men  from  the  store  and  bean  soup 
from  an  adjourned  church  social.  A  lull  of  the  wind  made  it  pos- 
sible at  last  to  check  the  flames  at  one  of  the  fire  walls  that  ran 
high  above  the  roof,  but  streams  were  kept  playing  all  night  over 
the  buildings.  Loss  $40,000.  Seven  weeks  later  new  shops 
were  opened,  having  four  brick  fire  walls  from  sixteen  to  twenty 
inches  thick,  with  iron  doors  and  casings.  In  November,  1889, 
the  Fairbanks  store  and  Counting  Room  were  entirely  destroyed 
by  fire. 

The  Old  Steam  Mill  opposite  the  Railroad  Station  was 
burned  March  20,  1876.  This  was  a  large  building  erected  in 
1851,  by  a  stock  company,  capable  of  housing  several  different 
industries.  At  the  time  of  this  fire  it  held  the  sash  and  door 
manufactory,  the  St.  Johnsbury  Tool  Company,  the  Nutt  File 
Works  and  the  Miller  Carriage  Factory.  The  loss  was  $14,000. 
The  building  erected  on  its  site,  occupied  by  Jones  and  Shields 
and  others  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1910,  total  loss 
$30,000. 

The  Center  Village  Fire,  July  1,  1876  On  the  morning  of 
that  day  this  village  consisted  of  80  dwellings,  three  churches 
several  stores  and  mills  or  shops.  At  noon  27  buildings  were  in 
ashes,  including  the  straw  board  mill,  grist  mill,  flour  mill,  two 
stores,  one  church  and  the  school  house — taking  out  a  third  of  the 
village,  nearly  the  entire  business  center.  As  there  was  no  tele- 
graph station,  a  messenger  had  to  drive  his  horse  to  the  Plain; 
then  the  engines  were  dragged  up  three  miles  in  the  hot  sun,  the 
only  local  apparatus  being  water  pails  and  wet  blankets.  The  old 
Armington  Hotel  and  the  Universalist  Church  opposite  were 
wrapped  in  flames ;  it  seemed  impossible  to  reach  the  upper  end 
of  the  street  where  help  was  most  needed,  except  roundaboutly 
by  the  burning  school  house  and  the  swamp.     But  with  a  daring 


FLOODS  AND  FIRES  523 

plunge,  the  Deluge  Engine  Company  dashed  thro  the  smoke  and 
flames  and  reached  the  north  end,  where  finally  they  checked  the 
further  progress  of  the  fire,  after  $50,000  property  had  been  con- 
sumed and  many  families  left  homeless.  Among  these  was 
William  Hall,  who  tucked  his  bank  bills  amounting  to  $500,  under 
the  corner  of  a  carpet  for  safe  keeping,  and  went  with  his  wife  to 
spend  the  day  up  at  Wesley  Sargent's. 

Four  months  after  this  fire,  Julius  Paradis  went  up  to  the 
Center  Village  post  office  and  enquired  for  a  Mrs.  Armington. 
He  was  taken  by  Edward  M.  Ide  to  her  house.  Had  she  lost 
anything  at  the  fire?  She  had.  What  was  it?  A  pocket  book. 
Anything  in  it?  Yes,  $250  in  bonds,  $400  in  notes,  $80  in  cur- 
rency. Paradis  handed  her  the  wallet  containing  these  articles  ; 
he  said  he  picked  it  up  from  the  ground  while  helping  to  load 
goods  on  to  a  wagon  ;  it  seems  he  had  been  talking  with  Father 
Boissonnault  and  took  this  occasion  to  relieve  his  pocket  and  his 
conscience. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  March  26,  1881,  the  work  of  fire  was  so 
sudden  and  swift,  that  the  Free  Baptist  Church  had  vanished  from 
its  place  on  Main  street  before  many  of  the  citizens  were  aware 
that  anything  had  happened. 

The  Union  School  House  on  Summer  street  was  burned  in 
the  early  morning  of  November  3,  1882.  The  fire  department 
could  not  get  pressure  enough  to  throw  water  on  to  the  roof  which 
had  been  recently  tarred.  The  outer  walls  of  two  and  three 
layers  of  brick  stood  uninjured  for  the  work  of  reconstruction. 
The  property  loss  was  $17,000,  and  unfortunately  the  school 
records  covering  26  years  were  destroyed. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  October  27,  1892,  the  east  side  of  Rail- 
road street  was  ablaze  with  flame,  driven  by  a  fierce  wind  from 
the  north.  A  roaring  noise  was  first  heard  from  the  basement  of 
Lougee  &  Smythe's  store,  then  an  explosion,  then  flames  fifty 
feet  high  from  the  rear  of  the  building.  Within  half  an  hour  the 
entire  row  of  business  blocks  south  were  on  fire,  Drouin's,  Cald- 
beck's,  Daniels',  Merchants  Bank,  Ward's,  Griswold  and  Pearl's. 
Thirty  families  were  burned  out,  fifteen  of  them  in  Ward's  block 


524  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

on  the  corner  ;  in  the  Caldbeck  building  two  lives  were  lost. 
The  property  loss  was  figured  at  $170,000,  including  the  Mer- 
chants Bank  and  fifteen  stores.  The  new  steam  pump  played  in 
14  streams  1000  gallons  of  water  a  minute ;  the  Aqueduct  sys- 
tem was  also  turned  into  the  mains.  The  Avenue  House  nar- 
rowly escaped  ;    its  turn  came,  however,  four  years  later. 

On  Sunday,  January  26, 1896,  the  Avenue  House  was  destroy- 
ed by  fire,  with  a  loss  of  $60,000.  The  guests  in  the  building  had 
hardly  time  to  escape  thro  the  doors  and  windows  ;  T.  C.  Spencer, 
caught  in  the  corridors,  was  so  injured  by  the  heat  that  he  died 
the  following  day.  The  firemen  were  on  duty  twelve  hours  ;  they 
played  17  streams  from  13  hydrants,  both  water  systems  being 
turned  on.  A  train  from  Lyndonville  brought  25  firemen  and 
1000  feet  of  hose,  which  was  a  welcome  reinforcement.  The 
Opera  House  seemed  doomed,  for  thro  a  door  left  open  in  the 
fire  wall,  the  flames  made  entrance ;  but  they  were  stubbornly 
fought  and  this  building  as  well  as  the  Republican  Block  was 
saved. 

On  Sunday,  March  10,  1895,  the  Pythian  Block  went  down  by 
fire  involving  a  loss  of  $35,000.  It  was  a  new  building,  erected 
only  the  year  before.  Dense  smoke  filled  the  building  for  two 
hours  before  any  flames  burst  out  ;  the  firemen  devoted  all  their 
energies  to  saving  the  adjoining  buildings.  Everything  in  this 
block  was  destroyed,  some  thirteen  parties  being  occupants  ;  it 
was  rebuilt  on  the  original  plan  the  next  year,  with  the  addi- 
tional feature  of  solid  brick  walls. 

Citizens  Bank  Block.  In  the  early  morning  of  October  30, 
1907,  fire  was  discovered  in  the  basement,  which  with  rapid 
progress  destroyed  the  whole  interior  of  this  block  and  cost  the 
lives  of  nine  persons.  "It  is  small  wonder  that  people  awakened 
out  of  sleep  by  the  cry  of  fire  in  the  hall  ways,  the  blowing  of 
engine  whistles  and  the  ringing  of  fire  bells  should  have  become 
bewildered  and  crazed ;  "  lost  their  way  in  the  smoke  and 
perished.  One  woman  in  night  dress  only,  plunged  thro  smoke 
and  fire  that  melted  celluloid  pins  in  her  hair,  then  ran  without 
shoes  for  shelter  to  a  house  on  Cherry  street.     Guy  Cheney  hung 


FLOODS  AND  FIRES  525 

for  twenty  minutes  from  a  top  window  in  stifling  heat,  too  high 
up  to  be  reached  by  any  ladder,  till  Oscar  Hall  rushed  up  the  fifty- 
five  foot  ladder  carrying  a  shorter  one,  which  he  and  Harley  Cas- 
well held  straight  up  to  his  feet,  and  by  this  narrow  margin 
rescued  him.  C.  T.  Ranlet,  the  well  known  printer,  lost  his  life 
by  falling  from  a  high  ladder.  This  was  the  most  tragic  catas- 
trophe in  the  history  of  the  town.  The  property  loss  was 
$50,000. 

One  effect  of  this  disaster  was  the  increased  public  demand  for 
more  effective  fire  protection  than  could  be  rendered  under  the 
existing  system,  and  this  ultimately  brought  about  the  establish- 
ment of  the  central  fire  station  and  the  purchase  of  the  motor 
trucks.  The  property  losses  caused  by  the  conflagrations  here 
mentioned,  not  including  the  long  list  of  less  serious  ones,  aggre- 
gated nearly  half  a  million  dollars. 


XXXIX 


MISCELLANEOUvS  CHRONICLE 


"Sir,"  quod  I,  "your  wordes  be  to  mee  rigrbte  agrreable  and  have  done  mee   greate  plesure- 
^vrhiche  shd  not  be  loste,  but  putte  in  remembrannee  and  eronycled  if  God  wyll." 

Froissart 


CHRONICLE   OF  TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS 


MOSTLY   FROM   THE  CALEDONIAN 


January  14,  1838  Imagine  a  railroad  once  completed  and  trains  of 
loaded  cars  bringing  all  the  benefits  of  Atlantic  markets  to  our  very  doors. 
What  would  induce  us  to  relinquish  its  privileges  and  return  to  our  present 
pent  up  and  sequestered  condition? 

December  1,  1839  Dr.  Calvin  Jewett  intends  keeping  constantly  on  hand 
Foreign  Leaches  for  use  and  for  sale.  A  few  Smyrna  and  Swedish  Leaches 
may  now  be  had  in  the  clay  in  which  they  were  imported. 

February,  1840  Whig  convention  at  Danville — the  delegation  from  the 
east  came  up  led  by  a  team  of  six  grey  horses  with  a  Tippecanoe  canoe 
mounted  on  runners  in  which  was  the  St.  Johnsbury  Brass  Band  whose  per- 
formances elicited  universal  praise. 

April  6,  1840  Hull  Curtis  has  removed  his  Tailor  Shop  to  the  south  part 
of  the  Plain  opposite  to  where  the  Temperance  House  was  kept.  Note.  That 
tailor  shop  is  now  the  Girls'  Cottage  of  the  Academy  ;  the  Temperance 
Hotel  is  the  present  Club  House.  It  was  Hull  Curtis,  who  in  waggish  tra- 
ditions of  later  time  was  credited  with  cutting  all  trousers  from  one  pattern, 
saying  "if  you  find  they're  too  long  wash  'em  and  they'll  shrink  all  right ; 
if  they're  too  short  just  let  out  your  suspenders." 

April  16,  1840  Swartwouted  !  from  the  subscriber,  an  indented  appren- 
tice, Michael  Coffney,  15  years  old.  All  persons  forbidden  to  harbor. —  Wm. 
C.  Arnold.     (Swartwout  was  a  notoriously  slippery  official  under  Van  Buren) 


MISCELLANEOUS  CHRONICLE  527 

May  4,  1841  Citizens  of  St.  Johnsbury  Plain  who  are  willing  to  devote 
half  a  day  to  transplanting  trees  to  ornament  and  beautify  our  village,  are 
desired  to  meet  at  the  head  of  the  Plain  at  one  o'clock  tomorrow  with 
proper  implements,  equipped  for  manual  labor ;  none  excused  except  the 
lame  and  the  lazy. 

October  30,  1841  Thirty  bushels  of  beechnuts  wanted,  in  exchange  for 
goods.  By  spreading  a  blanket  under  the  trees  the  nuts  can  be  easily 
gathered.     Shedd  a?id  Jewett . 

March  4,  1842  The  St.  Johnsbury  Lyceum.  Topic  for  debate  :  Is  the 
influence  of  woman  upon  society  in  the  aggregate  salutary,  or  not?  Aff. 
Wm.  Dickinson,  Jacob  Benton,  Charles  Fairbanks,  John  H.  Paddock.  Neg. 
Dr.  Morrill  Stevens,  Asa  L.  French,  J.  P.  Foster,  Aaron  Farnham, 

December  19,  1842  Found,  in  the  woods  100  rods  from  my  house,  seven 
sheep  variously  marked  in  the  ear.  The  owner  will  please  hand  over  a  little 
cash  and  take  them  away.     Royal  Ayer 

September  9,  1843  David  Camp  has  on  hand  and  for  sale  about  80,000 
teazles  of  first  rate  quality.     319  W* 

December  12,  1843  St.  Johnsbury  Academy.  This  new  Institution 
now  has  a  building  for  its  accommodation,  built  by  Messrs.  E.  and  T.  Fair- 
banks and  Company  at  a  cost  of  $2000.00.  It  is  warmed  by  a  furnace  in  the 
cellar  and  is  so  ventilated  as  to  keep  the  temperature  even,  promoting  the 
health  of  its  occupants, 

May  16,  1844  Wonasquatucket  calicoes,  crepe  nemours,  muslin  de  lanes, 
Victoria  lawns,  barages,  lace  stripe  muslins,  ginghams,  gimps,  fringes,  rib- 
bons, bonnets,  parasols,  whale  bone  for  trimming  bonnets.     E.  Jewett 

August  16,  1844  The  St.  Johnsbury  Henry  Clay  Club  will  meet  at  the 
Centre  Village  school  house.  Discussion  on  the  Annexation  of  Texas,  in 
which  our  political  opponents  are  invited  to  participate. 

August  28,  1844  The  St.  Johnsbury  Glee  Club  and  the  Band  went  over 
to  Lunenburg  to  attend  the  Whig  Convention  ;  they  added  much  to  interest 
of  the  convention,  which  was  addressed  by  Erastus  Fairbanks  and  others. 
One  procession  of  carriages  going  to  this  convention  was  more  than  a  mile 
in  length  ;  upwards  of  1000  people  were  present ;  the  Old  Coon  Spirit  of 
1840  is  still  alive,  opposing  Free  Trade,  Annexation  of  Texas  and  Slavery. 

Nov.  17,  1844  The  whigs  of  St.  Johnsbury  tender  their  acknowledge- 
ments to  the  Loco-foco  clique  of  Lyndon  lawyers  and  their  etcs.,  and  subs, 
also  to  Harry  Hibbard,  for  the  deep  concern  manifested  for  them  before  the 
election. 

Note  Loco-foco  as  a  designation  of  the  democratic  party  originated  in 
Tammany  Hall,  October  29,  1835.  During  a  stormy  debate  that  evening  one 
wing  of  the  party  extinguished  the  lights  and  left   the  hall  ;    the  opposing 


528  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

wing  promptly  lighted  candles  with  "loco-foco  matches"  and  then  continued 
the  meeting— hence  in  popular  phrase  amongst  the  whigs— loco-foco,  a 
democrat. 

March  1845  1001  Meeting  of  the  several  chapters  of  the  Order  at  St. 
Johnsbury  Center,  Wed.  March  12.  Every  member  should  be  present  as  the 
Grand  Sardocumonicum  has  arrived  from  Boston  and  will   be  distributed. 

August  6,  1845  The  Driesbach  Menagerie  arrives  on  the  Plain,  the 
music  car  drawn  by  four  elephants  ;  after  it  twenty  wagons,  in  which  Herr 
Driesbach  appears  fondling  and  caressing  his  carnivorous  family  and 
driving  them  in  harness. 

February  7,  1846  The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Caledonia  Association 
for  the  improvement  of  common  schools  is  held  at  St.  Johnsbury  Plain. 

July  25,  1846  The  art  of  Phonography  is  now  being  taught  here  by  B. 
P.  Worcester,  Professor  of  the  art.  He  will  give  an  exhibition  of  it  Tuesday 
evening  at  the  Meeting  House  on  the  Plain. 

August  29,  1846  300,000  Slaveholders,  thro  the  so-called  Democratic 
Party,  rule  this  country  as  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  and  with  measures  so 
abominable  as  to  carry  dismay  among  us.  Shall  the  whigs  falter  in  this 
crisis?  No,  no,  never !  Next  Tuesday  do  your  most  sacred  duty  at  the 
polls  and  rally  for  Freedom  and  Independence! 

September  4,  1846  Text  books  adopted  for  schools  in  Caledonia  Coun- 
ty— Webster's  Spelling  Book,  Saunder's  Readers,  Morse's  Geography,  Col- 
burn's  Intellectual  Arithmetic,  Adams' Arithmetic,  Well's  Grammar,  Cutter's 
Physiology,  Ackerman's  Natural  History,  Goodrich's  History  United  States. 

January  30,  1847  Stages  now  leave  Franklin,  N.  H.,  on  the  arrival  of 
the  cars  from  Boston,  Mondays,  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  passing  thro 
Plymouth  and  Franconia  Notch  to  Littleton.  Next  morning  at  seven  o'clock 
leave  Littleton  for  Waterford,  St.  Johnsbury  and  Danville  ;  returning  on  the 
opposite  days. 

February  24,  1847  The  Caledonia  Medical  Society  will  hold  the  semi- 
annual meeting  at  Geo.  W.  Ely's  Inn,  St.  Johnsbury  Plain  at  10  o'clock. 
Patients  prescribed  for  gratuitously.     Calvin  Jewett,  President 

May  6,  1847  It  is  well  for  us  that  wheat  is  plenty  on  our  farms  now  that 
flour  is  up  to  $10  a  barrel.  Better  to  use  our  domestic  wheat  than  to  pur- 
chase a  single  pound  of  flour. 

September  4,  1847  "A  little  more  grape,  Capt.  Bragg,"  said  Gen. 
Zachary  Taylor,  when  the  Mexicans  were  pressing  hard  on  our  army  at 
Buena  Vista.  So  say  we,  gallant  Whigs  of  Vermont !  Pour  in  the  grape  of 
Whig  ballots  into  the  rotten  hulk  of  locofocoism  next  Tuesday  !  Give 
the  Annexation  of  Texas  and  Slavery  allies  a  full,  plump,  well-aimed 
charge  of  grape  !  Up,  and  at  them  ! 


MISCELLANEOUS  CHRONICLE  529 

October  1,  1847  Snuff.  We  are  receiving  from  the  manufactory  Scotch 
and  Maccaboy  snuff  in  barrels,  half  barrels  and  jars  ;  sold  at  two  to  four 
cents  less  than  can  be  procured  from  Boston.     Fuller  &  Co. 

March  4,  1848  Now  that  the  Railroad  is  coming,  if  every  farmer  would 
turn  his  attention  to  increasing  our  agricultural  products  we  can  show  up  an 
amount  that  will  astonish  the  Bostonians. 

September  2,  1848    Whig  Nominations 

For  President,  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor  Vice  President,  Millard  Fillmore 

Electors  at  Large,  Erastus  Fairbanks,  Timothy  Follett 

x?„~  r^„  ~m~~   n„^™  n i.vi—  Senators,      J  E.  C.  Chamberlin 

For  Governor,  Carlos  Coohdge  Caledonia,   \  Edward  A.  Cahoon 

November,  1848  Our  young  Whigs  let  off  100  guns  in  honor  of  Old 
Zack's  election  on  the  7th  inst,  followed  by  a  torch  light  procession  and  a 
banquet  with  music  and  speeches  at  Hull  Curtis'  Inn. 

February  23,  1850  The  selectmen  have  laid  out  a  road  from  the  west 
end  of  the  Paddock  Village  bridge  southward  to  the  Depot  ground,  190  rods 
also  from  the  depot  grounds  westerly  up  the  hill  to  the  Plain  striking  Main 
street  just  north  of  the  burying  ground  ;  this  will  be  Eastern  Avenue,  24  feet 
wide,  to  cost  $600. 

May  20,  1850  Bristol  Bill  and  Meadows,  now  in  Danville  jail  were  in 
town  when  the  Bank  Commissioners  were  sitting  here  for  the  new  bank. 
They  were  thought  to  be  suspicious  characters  and  a  good  lookout  was  kept 
that  night  over  the  specie  deposited  by  the  commissioners.  Bill  had  regis- 
tered at  the  hotel  as  Mr.  Warburton  and  wife,  Philadelphia.  He  is  an  old 
Botany  Bay  convict,  and  the  marks  of  the  39  lashes  are  still  on  his  back. 

November  16,  1850  Rails  are  now  laid  up  to  Passumpsic  Village  ;  next 
week  we  shall  doubtless  see  the  Iron  Horse  in  our  midst. 

November  28,  1850  The  cars  have  come  !  The  first  regular  train  of 
cars  arrived  here  at  4  o'clock  ;  a  cheering  sight.  *  *  *  The  boys  are 
careless  about  the  depot  grounds  when  the  cars  are  moving.  They  do  not 
understand  the  danger  and  parents  should  keep  their  younger  boys  away. 

February  22,  1851  All  the  employees  of  the  Scale  factory  with  their 
ladies  were  invited  by  the  Fairbanks  Company  to  a  trip  on  the  cars  to  White 
River.  There  were  350  or  more  on  the  special  train  ;  the  engine  Caledonia 
in  her  best  attire  was  ornamented  also  with  a  scale.  There  was  a  dinner  and 
speeches  ;    the  day  was  one  to  be  ever  remembered. 

June,  1851  Much  building  activity  is  noticeable  on  the  new  street  laid 
out  parallel  with  Main — Summer  street. 

September,  1851  No  other  County  Fair  in  the  state  could  bring  together 
so  many  fine  cattle  and  horses  as  the  300  we  have  just  had  exhibited  here. 
Those  in  pursuit  of  fine  stock  will  now  know  where  to  come  to  find  it. 


530  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

May,  1852  More  ornamental  trees  should  be  transplanted  into  our  vil- 
lage ;    a  hundred  of  them  would  not  be  one  too  many. 

June,  1852  There  are  two  nuisances  that  should  be  at  once  attended  to  : 
the  frog  pond  near  the  North  Church  and  the  other  one  above  Central  street. 
The  boys  have  been  killing  frogs  in  these  ponds  and  the  result  can  be  snuffed 
a  considerable  distance.  Four  and  six  pence  of  the  highway  tax  paid  on  the 
Plain  might  be  claimed  for  abating  these  nuisances. 

November,  1852  By  the  aid  of  the  telegraph  we  had  at  this  place  at  11 
o'clock  Tuesday  evening  information  that  Franklin  Pierce  had  been  elected 
President.  The  railroad  when  opened  two  years  ago  was  considered  a  great 
advance  on  the  old  mail  stage ;  but  even  that  is  now  deemed  too  slow  by 
some  who  want  their  news  as  quick  as  lightning. 

March,  1854  At  the  annual  March  meeting  this  town  denounced  the 
Nebraska  Bill  now  pending  in  Congress,  by  a  vote  lacking  only  two  of  being 
unanimous,  of  which  two  one  was  by  the  Democratic  postmaster.  "This  Ne- 
braska perfidy  is  black,  hideous  and  repulsive  to  every  lover  of  freedom  and 
human  rights." 

"Will  ye  thus  our  land  despoil, 

Fair  Nebraska's  virgin  soil 

Yield  to  slavery's  bleeding-  toil?" 

April,  1854  It  is  rumored  that  no  mill  privileges  will  be  disposed  of  for 
the  present  on  the  pond  front  of  the  school  house  on  the  Plain,  or  until  the 
flowage  question  is  settled. 

June,  1855  A  new  road  is  to  be  laid  out  at  right  angles  from  R.  R.  St. 
running  east  across  the  Passumpsic  River  to  connect  with  the  East  Village 
road.     Note.     This  was  the  beginning  of  Portland  Street. 

September  8,  1855  It  is  like  enduring  the  tortures  of  the  Black  Hole  to 
stay  in  the  low,  unventilated  dungeon  of  our  Town  Hall  at  the  Center  Village, 
the  air  nauseated  with  smoke  and  exhalations  from  700  pairs  of  lungs,  so  that 
even  the  lamps  go  out  for  want  of  oxygen  to  keep  them  burning.  More  than 
any  necessity  for  County  Buildings  is  our  need  of  a  new,  wholesome,  capa- 
cious Town  Hall. 

March  1,  1856  Beyond  a  doubt  St.  Johnsbury  is  the  highest  market  in 
Vermont.  There  is  not  a  village  in  the  state  where  the  average  value  of 
everything  used  for  man  and  beast  rules  higher  than  here.  Figures  will 
show  this. 

April  19,  1856  There  is  competition  staging  north  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt., 
and  passengers  can  ride  at  their  own  price  to  Island  Pond,  connecting  with 
the  Grand  Trunk  for  Canada. 


MISCELLANEOUS  CHRONICLE  531 

May  3,  1856  May  Day  morning  was  celebrated  by  a  procession  of  20 
baby  carriages  thro  Main  Street,  each  carriage  drawn  by  two  girls  ;  babies, 
carriages  and  girls  decorated  with  flowers,  and  refreshments  served  at  the 
end  of  the  route. 

May  24,  1856  Summer  street  and  the  newly  opened  Spring  street, 
adorned  with  young  maples  will  some  years  hence  be  as  beautiful  streets  as 
one  will  see  in  any  country  village.  The  steep  bank  on  the  left  as  one  goes 
down  Western  Avenue  is  being  terraced  and  planted  with  trees  and  shrub- 
bery preparatory  to  the  erection  of  dwellings  on  the  table  land  above.  Those 
who  can  remember  when  there  was  but  one  street,  one  old  church  and  one 
schoolhouse  on  the  Plain  may  see  that  not  all  the  spirit  of  progress  has  gone 
out  west  of  the  Alleghanies. 

June,  1856  The  nomination  of  Freemont  and  Dayton  for  presidential 
ticket  was  responded  to  at  St.  Johnsbury  by  a  salute  from  the  twelve- 
pounder.     The  ball  is  rolling— clear  the  track  ! 

October  4,  1856  A  good  thing  recently  done  for  our  village  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  regular  police.  Its  usefulness  is  already  seen  in  the  preserving 
of  good  order  and  the  ferreting  out  and  destroying  of  large  quantities  of 
poor  liquor. 

October  18,  1856  Nothing  can  be  lovelier  than  St.  Johnsbury  just  now. 
The  light  fog  of  early  morning  soon  melts  away ;  not  a  cloud  obscures  the 
clear  October  sky  ;  the  sun  walks  thro  the  heavens  with  a  mild  benignant 
look  ;  the  autumnal  breeze  just  stirs  the  leaves  half  mournful  in  their  russet 
hues  ;  a  calm  repose  like  Hercules  leaning  on  his  club  carries  enjoyment  out 
of  doors  to  a  height  above  which  it  can  no  farther  go.  The  crescent  moon 
too  is  now  abroad  o'  nights  pouring  silver  light  upon  the  completed  glory  of 
autumn.     There's  no  more  glorious  clime  than  this. 

May  7,  1857  On  the  25th  inst.  an  opportunity  will  be  given  to  get  rid  of 
those  detestable  coins  the  ninepence  and  fourpence  ha'penny  ;  and  so  to  be 
rid  of  an  infinite  deal  of  half-cent  trickery  in  their  use.  The  government  is 
calling  them  into  the  Philadelphia  mint,  and  we  hope  to  see  them  all  starting 
toward  that  bourne  whence  no  fourpence  ha'penny  ere  returns. 

May  30,  1857  The  grounds  around  the  new  Court  House  are  being 
greatly  improved  by  grading,  gravel-walks  and  turfing.  Future  generations 
will  find  it  hard  to  believe  that  these  beautiful  premises  were  once  a  populous 
grave  yard  fronted  by  one  of  the  most  unsightly  holes  that  ever  disgraced  a 
Tillage. 

June  14,  1857    Letter  to  a  St.  Johnsbury  manufacturer : 

"June  the  11  one  1857,  sir  ihave  lerned  that  you  have  a  horse  rake  that  gros  on  wheals 
that  is  got  up  at  your  plase  and  ishod  like  to  no  what  you  ask  apease  fore  them  ore  by  the 
dosen  at  your  plase  or  dlivlered  at  the  stasion  Jefferson  county  Antwerp,  N.  Y.  ihave  wrote 
befor  and  have  not  got  no  anser." 


532  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

February  2,  1858  The  fire  wardens  report  the  cisterns  near  the  South 
church,  on  Summer  street  and  on  R.  R.  street,  sound  and  full  of  water ;  the 
cistern  opposite  the  Court  House  is  two-thirds  full,  the  one  near  the  Post 
Office  is  broken  and  empty. 

July,  1859  Independence  Day  toast. — The  Ladies  :  Fireside  ornaments, 
Presiding  Deities  in  the  Temple  of  Home,  China  Vases  amongst  the  stone 
ware  of  humanity  ;    responded  to  by  Geo.  W.  Cahoon  of  Lyndon. 

July  13,  1859  An  unusual  sight  was  that  of  thirteen  ladies  and  gentle- 
men passing  thro  our  streets  on  horseback  yesterday.  They  were  a  party  of 
tourists  on  the  way  to  the  mountains  from  New  York  City  on  a  700  mile 
trip. 

July  18,  1859  Mowing  machines  are  beginning  to  supersede  the  scythe 
on  our  fields.  They  seem  to  work  well,  tho  our  Vermont  hills  were  supposed 
to  be  proof  against  any  such  innovation. 

Aug.  10,  1859  A  Sunday  School  excursion  of  34  cars,  12  of  which  were 
from  this  town,  to  the  Bradford  grove.  The  train  was  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  long ;  with  banners  and  evergreens  and  merry  children  numbering 
almost  four  thousand. 

August,  1859  The  late  Judge  Paddock  was  an  influential  member  from 
this  town  of  the  Legislature  during  the  twenties  ;  at  a  time  when  that  body 
had  such  a  galaxy  of  learning,  of  talent,  and  of  eloquent  speakers  as  the 
state  of  Vermont  has  seldom  furnished. 

March  28,  1860 

My  grandson  Isaac  Snell  has  run  away  with  the  help  of  his  brother  I,ewis  Snell  the 
third.  I  forbid  all  persons  trusting-  him  on  my  account  as  I  will  not  pay  one  cent  for  him  no 
way.  The  Widow  Polly  Snell 

August  17,  1860  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill,  who  spoke  before  the  Vermont 
Teachers'  Association  at  the  South  Church  last  evening,  was  serenaded  and 
escorted  with  a  torch  light  procession  by  the  Torrent  and  Deluge  fire  com: 
panies. 

November  9,  1860  Behold,  how  brightly  breaks  the  morning  !  Repub- 
lican tornado  ;  Abram  Lincoln  to  be  next  President !  Hear  what  the  people 
say! 

December  10,  1860  Stove  wood  is  for  the  first  time  a  drug  on  our  mar- 
ket.    Best  maple  and  yellow  birch  $3  a  cord ;    common  run  of  wood  less. 

April  19,  1861  War!  Fort  Sumter  bombarded  and  surrendered ! 
75,000  militia  called  out  by  President  Lincoln  ! 

April  20,  1861  Today  Col.  Harvey  of  the  Passumpsic  House  drilled  100 
men  or  more,  who  at  the  tap  of  drum  and  scream  of  fife  stepped  into  mili- 
tary line.     A  strange  scene  on  our  streets  ! 


MISCELLANEOUS  CHRONICLE  533 

April  22,  1861  Patriotic  Meeting!  The  Town  Hall  filled  to  overflowing  ! 
70  men  volunteer  for  military  service  ! 

May  17,  1861  The  listers  of  our  town,  as  required,  return  460 men  quali- 
fied for  enrolment  in  the  state  militia. 

June  9,  1861  Gov.  Fairbanks'  remarks  to  the  Third  Regiment  at  Camp 
Baxter  on  Sunday,  showed  his  great  solicitude  for  the  honor  of  the  state  and 
also  a  personal  care  for  the  soldiers  that  was  not  official  only,  but  parental. 
Nothing  but  the  sacredness  of  the  day  prevented  rounds  of  applause. 

July  6,  1861  At  the  Town  Hall,  40  ladies  have  made  up  900  towels  for 
the  Camp  Baxter  Boys.     Many  flowers  have  also  been  sent  down  to  them. 

July  24,  1861  The  Third  Regiment  of  882  men  left  St.  Johnsbury  today 
in  a  train  of  24  cars,  bound  for  the  seat  of  war. 

January  1,  1862  Periodical  literature  mailed  to  this  village  :  212  dailies, 
27   semi-weeklies,  817  weeklies,  54  semi-monthlies,  173  monthlies  ;  total  1283. 

February  21,  1862  On  a  neighboring  farm  is  a  snow  drift  as  big  as  a 
forty  foot  barn  ;    it  was  necessary  to  tunnel  it  in  order  to  get  at  the  cattle. 

April  1,  1862  The  snow  has  settled  considerably.  Guard  rails  and  hitch- 
ing posts  begin  to  make  their  appearance  again  on  our  streets  ;  25  inches  of 
snow  fell  in  March,  51  in  February,  41  in  January. 

August,  1862  In  recruits  under  the  call  for  nine  months'  service,  the 
Center  Village  led  the  County.  This  town's  quota  of  62  was  promptly  made 
up,  and  within  five  weeks  94  men  were  enlisted.  Out  of  30  men  who  make 
up  the  Excelsior  Hook  and  Ladder  Co.,  26  are  now  in  the  army. 

January  1,  1863  The  emancipation  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln 
was  greeted  by  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  of  the  village  for  three  quarters 
of  an  hour. 

February  13,  1863  "I  wish  to  protest  against  the  wide  advertising  of  St. 
Johnsbury  as  the  coldest  spot  in  New  England.  Years  ago  Franconia  was 
the  cold  place,  but  lately  it  is  being  eclipsed  by  bulletins  sent  out  from  this 
town.     Approved  thermometers  do  not  justify  this." 

May  26,  1863  A  pair  of  loons  found  their  way  to  the  Depot  mill  pond 
Saturday.  There  may  not  have  been  any  wild  shots  but  the  man  who  was 
hit  in  the  back  by  a  spent  ball  doesn't  care  to  have  any  more  loons  come  to 
that  pond. 

May  30,  1863  The  listers  found  86  dogs  in  town,  and  by  the  law  now  in 
force  they  stand  the  same  in  the  list  as  86  horses  valued  at  $100  each ;  $8,600 
of  dog. 


XL 


FRAGMENTS 


'Of  the  fragments  that  remained  they  took  up  twelve  baskets  full" 

'What  a  good  deed  it  is  to  gather  up  these  scattered  crumbs  of  the  past" 

Wagner 


FIELD   AND      GARDEN — LIVING     CREATURES — COST       OF      LIVING — 
REAL  ESTATE — MIGRATORY  BUILDINGS — WAYSIDE  THINGS 


SUNDRY   PRODUCTS   OF   THE    SOIL 

'Tho'  thine  ocean-roll  of  rhythm  sound  forever  of  Imperial  Rome" 

*  *  • 

"Thou  too  singest  wheat  and  woodland,  tilth  and  vineyard,  kine  and  horse  and  herd  ; 
All  the  charms  of  all  the  Moses  often  flowering  in  a  single  word." 

Tennyson's  Salute  to  Virgil 


If  required,  precedent  is  conclusive  among  the  major  poets 
for  suitable  attention  to  common  products  of  the  soil  and  homely 
creatures  of  the  farm  yard. 

Jonathan  Arnold  affirmed  in  1787  that  the  soil  of  the  town 
was  good.  Other  men  as  time  went  on  have  found  it  so  or  made 
it  so,  tho  the  record  of  productiveness  does  not  indicate  anything 
extraordinary.  Researches  in  this  field  are  far  from  being  ex- 
haustive ;  a  few  items  appear  of  possible  interest  to  farmers  and 
gardeners. 


FRAGMENTS  535 

Beginning  with  1850,  Perley  Stone's  pumpkin  of  five  feet 
girth  had  60  pounds  of  pumpkin  material,  which  exceeded  by  16 
pounds  the  largest  pumpkin  reported  from  the  state  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Bible  Hill  in  1868  took  the  honors  from  Pumpkin  Hill 
when  Otis  Hallett's  pumpkin  attained  the  80  pound  mark.  In 
1852  a  52-inch  English  turnip  was  turned  up  in  A.  B.  Tyler's  gar- 
den ;  this  was  lateral  measure ;  William  Fuller's  turnip  of  1869 
went  down  26  inches  longitudinally.  Joel  Hastings'  corn  reached 
an  altitude  of  10  feet  8  inches  in  1853,  and  David  Chapman's 
corn  advanced  to  11  feet  4  inches  somewhile  afterward.  Jerry 
Norton's  oats  were  44  pounds  to  the  bushel  in  1859.  Ten  years 
later  Philander  Adams'  rye  was  waving  6  feet  4  inches  in  the 
upper  air,  and  Asa  Livingstone's  rye  was  5  feet  on  the  way  to 
that  record  mark  in  early  June,  1873.  Fine  timothy  hay  was 
cut  5  1-2  tons  to  the  acre  on  the  Fairbanks  meadows  along  the 
North  Danville  road  in  1866,  and  in  1877  Hiram  Russell  harvested 
corn  at  the  rate  of  280  bushels  to  the  acre. 

the  potato  "The  potatoe  roote  is  thicke  fat  and  tuber- 
ous, some  are  rounde,  some  oval  or  egge-fashion  and  with 
knobbie  rootes  fastened  with  a  number  of  threddie  strings  ;  it 
groweth  naturally  in  America  but  I  make  it  to  growe  and  prosper 
in  my  garden."  Gerard's  Herbal  1597,  It  continued  to  grow  and 
prosper  in  the  land  of  its  birth.  Jonathan  Arnold  dug  a  first 
crop  of  564  1-2  bushels  of  potatoes  from  his  clearing  on  St. 
Johnsbury  Plain  in  1787.  From  one  hill  in  1868  Loren  Stone 
turned  out  106  new  potatoes.  Ezra  Ide  had  three  California  po- 
tatoes in  the  spring  of  1864;  he  put  them  in  the  ground  and  in  the 
fall  he  had  three  bushels  of  the  same.  C.  M.  Stone  from  one 
pound  of  early  rose  in  1869  harvested  77  pounds  of  early  rose 
new  potatoes.  Judge  Ross  dug  91  bushels  of  early  rose  on  half 
an  acre  in  1893.  The  sweet  potato  has  not  been  wholly  foreign 
to  our  soil ;  twelve  sweet  potato  sprouts  in  1875  yielded  19 
pounds  of  the  tubers  in  a  Main  street  garden,  which  averaged 
three  potatoes  to  the  pound — "a  foode  as  also  a  meate  for 
pleasure  equall  in  wholesomenesse  unto  any,  rosted  in  embers  and 
eaten  with  oile,  vinigar  and  pepper."  These  potato  paragraphs 
may  be  construed  as  a  local  appendix  to  the  Treatise  on  Potato 


536  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Culture  published  in  France,  January   1,    1782  by  our  town    god- 
father, de  Crevecoeur. 

for  pie  supply  This  place  has  a  modest  title  to  inclusion 
within  the  "perpetual  pie  belt."  Its  pumpkin  pie  product  above 
mentioned  was  quite  surpassed  in  1870  by  the  Center  Village 
squash,  which  under  Edward  M.  Ide's  judicious  coaxing  went  on 
expanding  its  girth  to  7  feet  4  inches,  and  accumulated  200 
pounds  weight  of  squash  pie  filling.  There  was  serious  question 
whether  in  this  case  squash  quality  had  not  been  sacrificed  for 
quantity.  For  those  who  wanted  rhubarb  pie  Lewis  Pierce  in 
1869  grew  pie-plant  stalks  of  six  inches  periphery  and  J.  Huntley 
1896  did  the  same  on  stalks  of  28  inches  length  and  26  ounces 
weight.  Stalks  of  this  sort  promoted  leaf  expansion  :  Dr.  Ferrin 
at  the  East  Village  got  them  3  feet  by  3,  and  I.  J.  Robinson  on 
Railroad  street  got  them  3  feet  10  by  3  feet  6  inches,  a  circuit  of 
about  10  feet. 

grown  under  ground  The  beet  had  no  unusual  develop- 
ment, tho  in  1864  Ezra  Ide  lifted  a  ten  pound  one  out  of  his  beet 
bed  which  occupied  two  feet  circuit  of  the  soil ;  Alexander 
Stuart's  best  beet  fell  two  pounds  short  of  this ;  there  must  have 
been  other  beets  whose  attainments  are  not  found  on  record. 
John  Morse  in  1855  considered  17  pounds  fairly  good  weight  for 
his  ruta-baga,  but  Jacob  Hovey's  ruta-baga  went  on  to  20  pounds 
in  1864,  and  the  same  year  W.  Lockwood's  ruta-baga  arrived  at 
27  pounds.  That  same  year  David  Chapman  one  day  dug  5  feet 
four  inches  into  the  ground  to  reach  the  end  of  his  horse-radish, 
at  which  point  it  broke  off,  and  he  seems  not  to  have  pursued  his 
researches  any  further  down.  No  large  crops  of  peanuts  have 
been  harvested  here  ;  H.  Courchaine  however  got  good  ones  in 
1900  out  of  his  Hastings  Hill  sand  patch.  An  unusual  under- 
ground product  was  brought  to  light  on  Cliff  street  July  the 
eighth  1872,  by  Horace  Jackson  on  his  way  down  for  well  water. 
His  spade  had  gone  down  thro  three  feet  of  loam  and  six  feet  of 
clay,  at  which  point  nine  feet  below  the  surface,  he  arrived  at  the 
home  of  a  family  of  toads.  They  were  snugly  nested  in  hard 
clay,  content  with  their  environment,  willing  to  be  let  alone,  but 
denied  the  privilege.     Sunlight  and  the  upper  air  brought  about  a 


FRAGMENTS  537 

transformation  from  blue  clay  color  to  true  toad  brown,  and  from 
age-long  inertia  to  normal  toad  hop  and  keen  interest  in  the  sum- 
mer evening  bugs. 

small  fruits  Formerly  the  method  in  vogue  with  the 
strawberry  was  to  take  a  milk  pail  into  the  mowing  and  bring 
home  ten  quarts  of  berries  in  it.  They  had  the  inimitable  native 
flavor  of  the  fields  but  were  not  remarkable  for  size.  It  was  not 
till  1859  that  Sylvanus  Graves  brought  in  from  his  garden  a  straw- 
berry that  called  for  four  inches  of  the  tape  measure.  In  1876 
the  Underclyffe  strawberry  drew  out  nearly  six  inches  of  the  tape, 
and  Victor  Harriman  in  1889  celebrated  by  putting  a  girdle  of 
seven  and  a  half  inches  around  his  Fourth-of-July  strawberry. 

Gov.  Horace  Fairbanks  varied  his  duties  of  state  in  1876  by 
bringing  out  23  red  currants  on  a  small  stem,  their  average  meas- 
ure being  one  and  a  half  inches  or  more,  making  a  total  super- 
ficies of  three  feet  of  currant  on  that  stem. 

BEASTS    OF   THE    EARTH    AND    FLYING    FOWL 

Varieties  few — information  scanty — characteristics  ordinary. 
The  catamount  entrapped  up  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  in 
1847  proved  to  be  only  second  cousin  to  the  catamount — lynx  or 
bob-cat  by  name  ;  28  teeth  for  poultry,  tufts  on  ears,  three  feet, 
three  inches  length,  three  inches  depth  of  fur  on  tail  around 
about.  An  inquisitive  bear  indiscreetly  sauntered  on  to  John 
Spencer's  premises  November  12,  1847,  and  got  shot  for  it.  A 
seventeen-pound  porcupine  bristled  his  quills  gracefully  in  the 
grove  below  the  south  end  as  late  as  1866.  The  bear  that  lost  his 
way  near  the  east  town  line  October  7,  1854,  was  taken  care  of 
and  sold  for  nine  dollars.  A  moose  took  his  breakfast  in  Sylva- 
nus Owens'  cornfield ;  it  was  Friday,  September  27,  1879,  and  he 
took  occasion  to  move  on  before  his  measure  could  be  taken. 
Observatory  Knob  was  carefully  inspected  by  a  moose  November 
12,  1895.  The  Nova  Scotia  Bull  Moose  was  piloted  into  the 
Museum  in  August,  1898,  where  he  stands  six  feet  six  in  height 
with  antlers  four  feet  spread.  In  his  normal  state  he  represented 
1200  pounds  of  moose.  It  was  a  fisher  cat  that  came  down  from 
Saddleback  October,  1886,  and  did  not  find  his  way  back  home 


538  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

again.  Elijah  Blodgett's  old  tabby  cat  was  a  fisher  cat  in  1891 
when  she  fished  out  a  thirteen-inch  sucker  from  Sleeper's  river. 
The  seventeenth  woodchuck  that  Perley  Hazen  got  in  the  summer 
of  1887  was  a  cherry  colored  woodchuck.  The  bear  that  scared 
the  women  driving  on  the  East  Village  road  October  5,  1886,  was 
so  scared  a  young  bear  himself  that  he  got  out  of  the  way  quicker 
than  he  got  into  it  and  scampered  for  the  nearest  woods.  The 
flourishing  product  of  Squire  Nichols'  government  garden  seeds 
replenished  one  hungry  deer  in  June,  1899,  and  on  the  last  day  of 
June,  1900,  the  lawns  of  Underclyffe  kept  the  attention  of  another 
busily  browsing  most  of  the  day.  First  and  last  quite  a  number 
of  the  wild  deer  family  have  made  occasional  neighborly  calls  in 
the  village,  much  to  our  gratification.  For  thirty  years  the  grace- 
ful figures  of  the  flock  of  red  and  axis  deer,  confiding  enough  to 
take  a  nibble  of  something  from  your  hand,  gave  unfailing  at- 
traction to  the  Pinehurst  Deer  Park. 

The  Crow  Hill  owl  of  1857  carried  six  feet  spread  of  wings  ; 
the  Owens'  Hill  eagle  in  1863  exceeded  this  by  eighteen  inches. 
There  was  a  blue  heron  heading  for  Canada  in  1864  that  spread 
six  feet  of  wing  over  Passumpsic  river;  her  successor  of  1873  on 
the  same  trail  had  a  wing-spread  of  six  feet  three  inches,  a  height 
of  four  feet  six  inches  and  projected  six  and  a  half  inches  of  beak. 

contributions  of  the  hen  No  king  has  been  known 
to  mount  a  domestic  fowl  on  the  royal  standard,  but  it  is  recorded 
by  Gibbon,  that  one  imperial  poultry  man  converted  his  hens' 
eggs  into  crown  jewels  ;  "When  Vateces,  the  Nicene  Emperor, 
presented  to  the  Empress  a  crown  of  diamonds,  he  informed  her 
with  a  smile  that  this  precious  ornament  was  from  the  sale  of  the 
eggs  of  his  poultry."  This  introduction  of  the  hen's  egg  into  the 
History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  justifies 
some  notice  of  it  in  a  less  ambitious  historical  work.  Postmaster 
Barney's  hen  used  to  produce  good  democratic  eggs  under  Polk's 
administration  to  weigh  a  quarter  of  a  pound.  On  the  other  hand 
Hiram  Pierce's  hen  yielded  an  independent  egg  to  weigh  a  quar- 
ter of  an  ounce.  In  June,  1877,  C.P.  Carpenter's  mature  hen  de- 
posited in  twelve  days'  time  twelve  eggs  the  size  and  caliber  of 
robins'  eggs.      Between  Dorking  and  Wyandotte  up  at  the  Four 


FRAGMENTS  539 

Corners  there  was  a  one-inch  variation  one  way  of  the  egg  and 
none  the  other  way  ;  Wm.  C.  Arnold's  Dorking  being  nine  inches, 
Guy  C.  Wright's  Wyandotte  ten  inches  the  long  way.  A  biddy  be- 
longing to  Mrs.  White  started  in  on  a  day  in  February  with  one 
egg  followed  by  ninety  more  the  next  ninety-three  days  ;  then  a 
week's  vacation  and  on  to  business  again.  A  fully  developed 
frog  of  dimensions  suited  to  his  environment  was  liberated  from 
an  egg  at  the  Cross  Bakery  one  October  day  in  1893,  and  in 
August,  1878,  Ezra  Hawkins'  hen  presumably  a  Bang-kok, 
achieved  a  brace  of  Siamese-twin  eggs,  one  for  yolk  and  one  for 
white,  with  provision  for  distributing  the  same  thro  a  pipe-stem 
canal  of  one  inch  length  uniting  the  two. 

sheep  There  was  a  time  when  sheep  had  distinction  in 
the  town  ;  they  alone  shared  with  the  human  family  the  honor  of 
mention  in  the  New  England  Gazetteer  of  1837,  "about  2000 
people  and  4546  sheep"  constituting  the  population  as  there  re- 
corded. It  will  be  noticed  that  the  numeration  of  sheep  was 
exact,  that  of  men,  women  and  children  stood  in  an  indeterminate 
or  round  figure.  Sheep  had  a  way  in  former  days  of  more  than 
doubling  their  number.  Moses  Huntley  in  the  spring  of  1862 
had  34  "middling  likely  ewes,"  each  likely  ewe  of  the  bunch  had 
twin  lambs,  a  flock  of  68  likely  young  sheep.  Sheep  had  value 
as  well  as  number ;  Leonard  Shorey  wintered  17  sheep  in  1854 
and  realized  $5.70  on  each  ;  in  1863,  A.  H.  Wilcox  sheared  19 
pounds  of  wool  from  his  Spanish  Merino  buck,  and  was  not  dis- 
posed to  take  the  $500  offered  for  him.  For  nearly  half  a  century 
Bela  S.  Hastings  dealt  in  sheep,  handling  as  many  as  30,000  in  a 
single  year ;  he  took  them  down  the  road  on  foot  and  estimated 
that  if  all  he  had  marketed  were  in  line  it  would  make  a  continu- 
ous string  of  sheep  populating  the  road  from  here  to  Boston. 

live  stock,  a  cow  or  two  "The  cow  has  been  the  merited 
theme  of  eulogium  in  all  ages."  From  a  nine-year  old  farrow 
cow  Chauncey  Spaulding  in  1849,  besides  all  supplies  for  family 
use,  marketed  413  pounds  of  good  butter ;  this  was  one  of  the 
common  old-fashioned  red  cows.  During  the  year  ending  May- 
1881,  the  Jersey  Queen  bred  by  E.  and  T.  Fairbanks  and  Co. 
yielded  700  pounds  of  butter ;    she  was  then  sold  to  A.  B.   Darling 


540  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  New  York,  and  in  May,  1882,  her 
record  for  the  year  was  12,854  pounds  of  milk  and  851  pounds  of 
butter.     New  York  regarded  the  Vermont  cow  with  favor. 

oxen  The  Carlos  Pierce  ox  was  a  native  of  Stanstead  but 
he  came  to  distinction  in  this  place  at  the  Caledonia  Fair  of  1864, 
ticketed  as  follows  :  "General  Grant,  six  years  old,  largest  ox  in 
the  United  States  will  be  presented  to  Father  Abram  on  the  eighth 
of  November  next  on  his  re-election  to  the  Presidency,  unless 
Richmond  falls  before  that  date,  in  which  case  he  will  report  to 
the  successful  General  and  await  further  orders. "  In  1873,  Asa 
Livingston  had  at  the  Fair  what  was  then  considered  a  heavy  ox 
for  a  four-year-old  at  2508  pounds.  For  the  benefit  of  future 
generations  who  would  like  to  know  what  was  the  prevailing  style 
of  farmer-ox-talk  of  that  period,  a  few  of  the  sixty-eight  expres- 
sions overheard  by  this  writer  and  penciled  on  the  spot,  are  here 
given  : 

"My,  what  an  ox — say,  ain't  he  big — marster  big  ox — that's  what  I  call 
an  ox — swanny  he's  a  big  one — ain't  no  question  'bout  that — well,  I  never 
did  see  such  an  ox— he's  awful  fat,  ain't  he— there  ye  see  what  meal  '11  do — 
I  sh'd  like  a  meal  out  o'  him — fat  laid  right  on  even — too  fat,  wouldn't  give 
much  for  him — can't  feel  any  ribs  on  this  ox — he's  so  fat  he's  homely— can't 
kick  very  spiteful — ain't  much  excited  is  he— I  tell  ye  he's  an  ox — some  big 
roasts  in  him — say  Major,  stand  here  an'  look  at  that  ox— hip  bones  don't 
stick  out  much  on  him — consid'ble  heft  on  him — weighs  2508  and  hain't 
drink'd  today — sh'd  think  'twould  make  his  legs  ache  to  stand— big  ox  ain't 
he— just  about  the  pret'st  ox  yet." 

This  ox  could  hardly  have  elicited  such  complimentary  re- 
marks a  few  years  later.  L.  D.  Hazen  brought  on  a  yoke  of  oxen 
in  1886  believed  to  be  the  largest  in  New  England,  6187  pounds 
weight,  9  feet  4  inches  girth.  Bela  Hastings  bought  them  for 
$500  and  some  while  after  was  offered  $100  a  week  for  the  privi- 
lege of  exhibiting  them  ;  they  were  finally  sold  for  exhibition  pur- 
poses in  New  York  and  ultimately  brought  their  owner  $2000. 
Moore  and  Hastings'  Durham  oxen,  ten  years  old  in  1889, 
weighed  8030  pounds,  reputed  the  largest  in  the  world  and 
George  C.  Cary's  largest-in-the-world  yearling  steer  stood  at 
3300  pounds  in  1906.  Twenty-six  oxen  and  steers  from  the  Fair- 
banks herd  registered  39,700  pounds  on   the  Fairbanks  scale  in 


FRAGMENTS 


541 


1888  and  were  thereupon  shipped  to  England.  In  the  Hazen 
string  of  oxen  at  the  fair  of  1886,  there  were  24  yoke  carrying 
along  99,489  pounds  of  ox;  an  expert  ox-man  remarked  that 
"Vermonters  never  saw  so  much  good  beef  tied  together  in  one 
lot  before  and  it  is  doubtful  if  anyone  ever  did." 

PRICES    CURRENT 


1821 


3  lbs.  shugar 

64  cts. 

10§  lbs.  cheese 

64  cts. 

4i  lbs.  butter      57  cts. 

1  lb.  talow 

17  cts. 

14i  lbs.  beef 

58  cts. 

11  lbs  mackeril    77  cts. 

12  lbs.  flower 

30  cts. 

5  lbs.  pourke 

35  cts. 

15  lbs.  lamb        61  cts. 

Ipig 

1.00 

1  bushel  potatos 
1837 

25  cts. 

1  lode  wood         25  cts. 

Butter,  lb. 

12  cts. 

Potatoes,  bu. 

15  cts. 

Hay,  ton                  5.50 

Eggs,  doz. 

10  cts. 

Oats,  bu. 

1842 

25  cts. 

Wood,  cord             1.20 

Beef 

4  cts. 

Potatoes 

12i  cts. 

Molasses      10  cts.  qt. 

Butter 

12i  cts. 

Oats 

20  cts. 

Rum               8  cts.   pt. 

Alcohol 

10c  pt. 

Onions 

90  cts. 

Honey            12  cts. 

Opodeldoc 

20c  bottle 

Hens              16  cts.  each 

Tobacco     2  cts.  a  pl'g 

1856 

Butter,  lb. 

21  cts. 

Potatoes,  bu. 

25  cts. 

Hay,  ton                 10.50 

Cheese,  lb. 

11  cts. 

Flour,  bbl. 

10.50 

Wood,  cord             2.50 

Beef  Steak 

11  cts. 

Eggs,  doz. 

1884 

18  cts. 

Brick,  per  M.          5.00 

Eggs,  doz. 

35  cts. 

Potatoes,  bu. 

45  cts. 

Honey                 22  cts. 

Cheese,  lb. 

17  cts. 

Flour,  bbl. 

8.00 

Onions,  lb.            3  cts. 

Butter,  lb. 

30  cts. 

Apples,  bbl. 

1.50 

Cranberries,  qt.  20  cts. 

Oatmeal 

6  cts. 

Oysters,  qt. 

40  cts. 

Lemons,  doz.      30  cts. 

REAL   ESTATE    VALUES 


The  items  that  follow  have  appeared  in  print  and  are  here 
recorded  to  illustrate  the  changes  in  values. 

1787  The  present  price  of  good  land  for  farms  in  St.  Johns- 
bury,  uncleared,  is  one  dollar  per  acre ;  $20  on  100  acres  in  hard 
money  down,  $50  in  neat  cattle  in  six  months,  $30  in  neat  stock 
or  grain  in  18  months. 


542  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

1814  Joseph  Fairbanks  paid  Pres  West  $300  for  five  acres 
on  the  east  side  of  Sleeper's  river  with  mill  privilege,  where  the 
scale  works  now  are. 

1818  Ephraim  Paddock  bought  his  homestead  lot  of  four 
acres,  on  which  the  first  brick  building  in  the  town  was  placed,  of 
John  Taylor  for  $300.  Of  this  land  Samuel  Jewett  bought  in 
1874  the  adjoining  lot  south  for  $2500,  on  which  he  built  the 
house  now  owned  by  Hon.  Henry  C.  Ide. 

1828  Polly  Furguson  paid  John  Barney  $25  for  the  30  rods 
of  her  house  lot  opposite  the  burial  ground  ;  her  quaint  bit  of  a 
cottage  sat  where  she  put  it  for  75  years,  long  enough  to  become 
an  interesting  old  relic,  on  the  site  of  which  Lambert  Packard 
built  the  house  owned  by  N.  R.  Young,  now  appraised  at  $6000. 

184-0  The  Harris  farm  now  included  in  Summerville  was 
listed  at  $1700.     In  1873  its  valuation  was  $55,000. 

1850  Geo.  C.  Barney  bought  the  house  north  of  the  present 
Union  Block  for  $1000,  put  up  the  narrow  building  south  of  it, 
used  for  Post  Office  1853-1861,  and  in  1867  sold  the  property  to 
B.  D.  Burnham  for  $6000. 

1854  Col.  Merrill  built  the  octagon  and  on  removing  to  Rut- 
land sold  to  Samuel  Moore  for  $7500.  Some  years  later  Moore 
sold  $3000  of  the  land  and  the  remainder  of  the  place  to  Dr.  Bul- 
lard  for  $9000.  There  was  a  contract  at  one  time  pending  with 
Dr.  Perkins  for  the  sale  of  this  property  including  four  acres  of 
the  Sleeper's  river  meadow,  for  $16,500,  but  Dr.  Bullard  decided 
to  retain  the  place,  which  is  still  held  in  the  family. 

1860  Dickinson  and  Butler  bought  the  George  Downing 
place  at  east  end  of  Prospect  street  for  $1750.  The  same  was 
bought  by  Dr.  Perkins  in  1868  for  $3800,  and  sold  in  1892  for 
$6000  for  St.  Johnsbury  Hospital  site. 

1870  Moses  Kittredge  held  his  house  on  Prospect  street  at 
$7500,  and  sold  it  the  next  year  at  that  price  to  Father  Boisson- 
nault  for  the  Notre  Dame  rectory. 

1884  The  highest  price  paid  for  real  estate  in  the  history  of 
the  town  was  $250  for  a  space  of  one  inch  depth.     James  S.  San- 


FRAGMENTS  543 

born  took  a  deed  for  the  lot  adjoining  the  Walker  block  on  the 
Plain  on  which  to  erect  the  Masonic  block.  It  was  found  that 
the  granite  coping  of  the  Walker  block  was  laid  to  the  line  and 
the  brick  wall  withdrawn  one  inch.  To  leave  this  space  open  to 
the  weather  would  result  in  serious  damage.  Walker's  price  for 
it  was  $300,  generously  reduced  after  a  while  to  $250,  which  sum 
Sanborn  paid,  and  the  two  blocks  stand  so  snugly  together  that 
no  disturbing  element  can  get  in  between  them. 

BUILDINGS   THAT   HAVE   TRAVELED 

The  old  Town  and  Meeting  House  of  1804  did  not  make  its 
transit  in  recognizable  form.  It  was  taken  down,  packed  on  to 
wagons,  carried  across  Passumpsic  river  and  re-erected  at  the 
head  of  the  Center  Village  burial  yard,  in  1845 ;  now  occupied  by 
the  First  Congregational  Church. 

Isaac  Wing's  house,  built  about  1880,  was  high  up  on  Wing 
Hill,  a  mile  or  so  east  of  the  Center  Village.  Some  thirty  years 
later  it  was  braced  with  iron  rods,  lifted  on  to  wooden  shoes  and 
brought  down  Wing  Hill  by  forty  yoke  of  oxen ;  twenty  yoke 
pulled  and  twenty  yoke  held  back  on  the  descent.  It  was  owned 
by  Reuben  Hallett,  and  is  now  the  home  of  his  son  Erastus. 

The  Meeting  House  built  on  the  Plain  in  1827,  was  mounted 
on  rollers  in  1847  and  trundled  down  the  street  to  a  vacant  lot 
beside  the  old  burial  ground,  where  it  now  stands,  adjoining  the 
Court  House. 

The  most  restless  traveler  of  early  times  was  the  district  school- 
house  on  the  Plain.  First  it  was  on  Main  street,  north  of  the 
Meeting  House;  then  down  some  distance  near  the  burial  ground; 
then  up  to  the  foot  of  Mount  Pleasant ;  then  down  below  the 
Meeting  House  ;  then  up  over  against  Arnold  Park  ;  then  down 
again  near  the  point  it  started  from,  where  it  was  attached  to  a 
dwelling  house,  thus  ending  its  migrations. 

Pres  West  built  a  house  in  1813  for  Groom  the  hatter  directly 
opposite  the  burial  ground.  Some  30  years  later  it  was  owned 
and  occupied  by  Emerson  Hall  till  1876  when  it  was  moved  up  to 
the  head  of  the  Plain  and  set  into  what  thereafter  became  a  lane 
for  traveling  houses,  Green  street. 


544  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

The  large  white  house  built  by  Joseph  Fairbanks  in  1817f 
where  Western  Avenue  turns  down  to  the  Scale  Works,  was  re- 
moved by  his  grandson  Franklin  in  I860  across  the  Sleeper's 
river  and  built  into  the  new  boarding  house,  where  its  original 
front  appears  very  much  out  of  place,  wholly  shorn  of  all  its 
former  dignity. 

The  first  parsonage  of  the  South  Church,  directly  opposite 
the  meeting  house,  was  in  1867  rolled  up  thro  Main,  Central  and 
Spring  streets  to  where  it  now  sits  in  pillared  dignity  at  the  head 
of  Autumn  street. 

Dr.  Calvin  Jewett's  little  pink  pill  shop  was  picked  up  from 
its  place  near  the  South  church  in  1854  and  set  down  amongst  a 
nest  of  small  buildings  on  the  north  side  of  Maple  street. 

Judge  Paddock's  old  yellow  law-office  which  for  40  years 
was  a  landmark  on  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  retreated  to  the  rear, 
exchanged  its  old  sheep-covered  law  books  for  fresh  dairy 
products  ^and  when  its  day  was  done  retired  quietly  from  the 
scene. 

The  white  store  of  Emerson  Hall,  over  which  was  Gage's 
Daguerrotype  Gallery,  was  removed  to  make  way  for  the  Athe- 
naeum in  1868.  It  now  stands  next  to  St.  Andrew's  church,  out- 
wardly unchanged  except  in  color. 

The  little  Dr.  Stevens  house  used  successively  as  a  grocery, 
post  office  and  express  office  before  the  brick  block  was  built,  had 
an  easy  trip  across  the  street  to  the  west  end  of  Union  Block, 
where  it  has  continued  to  accommodate  shoemakers  and  hair 
dressers. 

The  old  Caledonian  Block  built  by  Benj.  Gilson,  1850,  was 
rolled  down  Eastern  Avenue  in  1869  and  up  Prospect  street  in 
1892  and  is  now  the  office  building  of  the  Electric  Company. 

J.  P.  Fairbanks'  house  was  built  in  1841,  on  the  site  of  Dr. 
Lord's  old  red  house  at  the  south  end,  and  for  forty-two  years  its 
vine-covered  pillars  were  a  landmark  in  sight  as  far  up  as  the 
Bend.  In  1883  it  was  seen  receding  over  the  hill  into  the  narrow 
pass  of  Pine  street,  bereft  of  its  familiar  features  of  pillars  and 
trailing  woodbine. 


FRAGMENTS  545 

The  Academy  of  1843  had  an  upward  trip  in  1871  into  the 
bosom  of  the  new  brick  Academy  where  it  still  keeps  securely 
the  original  pine  and  birch  benches  of  seventy  years  ago. 

The  Judge  Poland  residence  on  Prospect  street — transformed 
in  1896  into  the  Home  for  Aged  Women — was  taken  down  after 
21  years'  occupancy  and  transported  to  the  Center  Village  ;  this 
made  way  for  a  modern,  commodious  and  comfortable  haven  of 
rest — the  new  Sunset  Home. 

WAYSIDE    OBJECTS 

band  stands  For  some  years  the  only  band  stand  was  on 
the  Green,  now  Arnold  Park,  which  had  been  from  time  immemo- 
rial the  one-sided  center  of  open  air  functions.  Occasional  band 
concerts  would  be  given  on  the  hotel  veranda  or  other  convenient 
place.  A  permanent  stand  was  erected  by  subscription,  W.  J. 
Bray  builder,  front  of  the  railroad  station  in  1889  ;  and  some 
years  later  the  one  that  is  near  the  Court  House.  The  Don't 
Worry  Club  provided  the  Summerville  band  stand  at  an  expense 
of  $174.15  ;  other  similar  stands  have  been  erected  at  East  and 
Center  Villages,  the  latter  by  initiative  of  James  R.  Stevens. 

water  troughs  The  first  stone  water  trough  was  planted 
front  of  the  Court  House  in  1874  ;  this  was  afterward  removed 
to  the  head  of  Summer  street  and  a  new  one  was  set  in  its  place. 
Barre  granite  water  troughs  costing  $328  were  erected  by  the 
Woman's  Club  in  1896,  also  the  iron  drinking  fountains  at  the 
head  and  at  the  foot  of  Eastern  Avenue,  and  in  1905  the  stone 
water  trough  in  Summerville.  The  East  Village  granite  trough 
was  set  in  1903  as  a  memorial  to  Calvin  Morrill  by  his  daughter, 
Miss  Charlotte  Morrill ;  about  the  same  time  a  similar  one  was 
erected  and  donated  to  the  Center  Village  by  Myron  D.  Park. 

wayside  clocks  The  Village  clock  in  the  bell  tower  of  the 
South  church  was  purchased  by  individuals  and  installed  in  1853. 
Its  original  cost  is  not  known  but  its  meritorious  action  is  dis- 
tinctly announced  every  hour  of  the  twenty-four;  after  sixty 
years'  continuous  attention  to  duty  it  still  tolls  the  hours  with 
promptness  and  precision.     The  street  clock  erected  by  H.  W. 


546  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Randall  in  1910  at  the  head  of  Eastern  Avenue  was  at  that  time 
the  only  one  of  the  sort  in  the  state.  It  stood  in  the  price  list  of 
Howard  clocks  at  $700  ;  and  it  was  none  the  worse  for  having 
been  many  years  looked  at  by  the  crowds  that  frequent  the  grand 
central  station  of  New  York.  It  gives  out  the  hours  of  day  and 
night,  nineteen  feet  above  the  pavement,  from  forty-inch  dials  en- 
closed in  glass  and  illuminated  after  dark  by  revolving  electric 
lights.  The  Lurchin  suspension  clock,  near  the  foot  of  Eastern 
Avenue,  gets  more  attention  maybe  than  others,  being  hard  by  a 
most  populous  business  corner  and  very  handy  for  everybody  on 
the  way  to  take  a  train.  When  the  Citizens  block  was  a-building 
in  1893,  there  was  a  project  to  put  up  a  high  tower  clock  with 
night  dials  and  a  fire  alarm  attachment.  The  estimated  cost  was 
$1200,  of  which  amount  the  bank  would  assume  $5C0  but  the 
requisite  balance  was  not  secured.  Two  years  later  the  Gamewell 
fire  alarm  was  installed  in  the  tower  of  the  Court  House. 

cannon  The  Parrot  guns  on  Monument  Square  were  ob- 
tained of  the  War  Department  by  Congressman  Grout  and  pre- 
sented to  the  veterans  of  Chamberlin  Post,  who  raised  $100  for 
setting  them  properly  in  position  on  the  strategic  point  that  com- 
mands our  eastern  thoroughfare.  This  was  in  August,  1899.  The 
guns  are  thirty-pounders,  nine  feet  long,  two  tons  weight  each. 
The  one  planted  west  of  the  monument  is  Parrot  126,  of  the  arma- 
ment of  the  warship  Magnolia.  The  other  is  Parrot  107  which 
sent  out  salutes  to  the  enemy  from  the  deck  of  the  Kanawah.  In 
August,  1904,  Ensign  C.  S.  Thurston  of  Winchester  paid  a  visit 
to  an  old  acquaintance  of  his  located  the  past  five  years  in  St. 
Johnsbury — Parrot  Number  107  by  name,  which  he  had  helped  to 
man  in  war  time.  It  was  an  interesting  reunion,  which  gave  oc- 
casion for  recounting  thrilling  events  in  which  they  had  partici- 
pated in  the  days  when  the  Merrimac  and  Monitor  were  making 
history. 

meridian  posts  These  low  peaked  granite  blocks  were  set 
in  the  Academy  lawn  by  the  Class  of  1888  to  mark  the  termini  of 
a  true  meridian  line.  Their  exact  position  was  determined  by  the 
observations  of  S.  H.  Brackett,  instructor  in  physics.  A  brass 
pin  is  countersunk  in  the  apex  of  each  stone  ;    the  needle  of  the 


FRAGMENTS  547 

compass  when  placed  over  the  south  one  should  point  directly- 
over  the  other  toward  the  north  pole  of  the  earth  ;  its  deflection 
either  way  will  indicate  a  variation  from  the  true  meridian  line. 
Slightly  east  of  this  line  and  near  the  north  flight  of  granite  steps 
is  the  round  pillar  of  the  sun-dial  placed  here  by  Rector  F.  S. 
Fisher  in  memory  of  his  daughter  of  the  Class  of  1885.  The 
fountain  on  the  west  side  of  the  street  was  presented  to  the  Acad- 
emy by  the  Class  of  1890. 

street  and  bridge  To  the  steady  old  family  horse  the 
steam  roller  of  1889  became  an  unwelcome  intruder  demanding 
right  of  way  on  the  street,  which  was  promptly  and  discreetly 
granted.  Its  more  powerful  and  noisy  successor  of  1899  did  not 
mend  matters  with  the  horse,  but  it  did  more  satisfactory  mac- 
adam work,  the  first  trial  strip  of  which  had  been  100  yards  at 
the  half-way  point  of  Eastern  avenue.  At  the  present  time  all 
the  principal  streets  have  macadam  surface  and  the  village  owns 
its  quarry  and  crushing  plant.  Railroad  street  was  concreted  ten 
inches  thick  in  1891  at  a  cost  of  $3500.  The  next  year  a  petition 
to  change  the  name  of  this  street  to  Columbia  avenue  did  not 
meet  with  success.  In  1850  plank  and  gravel  walks  had  oblitera- 
ted most  of  the  old  foot  paths  thro  the  grass  ;  these  in  turn  gave 
way  some  forty  years  later  to  the  Tilton  concrete  which  every- 
body appreciated ;  now  even  that  superior  surfacing  has  lost  its 
good  standing  since  the  advent  of  the  granilithic  pavement. 

In  the  winter  of  1890  the  huge  snow-roller  began  to  roll  and 
soon  drove  its  predecessor,  the  peaked  snow-plow,  from  the  street. 
Kelley's  village  hack,  regular  pattern,  began  its  trips  in  August, 
1893,  and  in  the  summer  of  1895  the  plague  of  road  dust  began  to 
be  abated  somewhat  by  the  street  sprinkler,  more  effectually  in 
1914  by  the  distribution  of  oil  on  the  main  thoroughfares. 

The  road  mileage  of  St.  Johnsbury  Village  is  recorded  as  21 
miles  ;  beyond  the  village  limits  there  are  78  miles,  a  total  of  99 
miles  for  the  town.  Possibly  this  is  an  understatement.  In  1889 
nineteen  new  guide  posts  were  planted  at  the  cross-roads.  By 
the  provisions  of  the  legislative  act  of  1907,  there  was  distributed 
that  year  to  the  credit  of  the  village,  a  rebate  from  the  state  of 
$177.48  and  of  $473.29  to  the  town,  on  highway  expenditures. 


548  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

There  are  fourteen  covered  bridges  and  three  open  ones  be- 
sides an  unreported  number  of  smaller  ones,  a  total  of  bridges 
above  the  average  in  other  towns  of  the  state  ;  this  agrees  with 
the  statement  of  our  first  selectmen  in  1790  as  recorded  on  page 
49.  The  most  important  one  is  the  steel  bridge  connecting  Rail- 
road street  and  Summerville,  built  by  the  Albany  Construction 
Company  in  1905,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000.  This  bridge  of  108  feet 
span  has  a  twenty-foot  driveway  and  a  six-foot  side-walk  ;  it 
spans  the  mill-pond  which  was  first  created  by  the  old  steam  mill 
dam  of  2850,  replaced  in  1900  by  a  roll-dam  196  feet  long  con- 
taining 2000  feet  of  lumber  and  200  cords  of  stone  ;  cost  $6000. 
The  project  for  a  viaduct  spanning  the  entire  depression  between 
the  Railroad  and  Portland  street  levels  at  a  cost  of  about  $50,000, 
came  within  one  vote  of  being  consummated  July  1,  1899 ;  of  the 
304  ballots  cast,  152  were  aye,  J52  were  nay.  Alexander  Dunnett, 
the  moderator,  cast  the  deciding  vote  and  declared  the  motion 
lost.  There  is  no  special  attention  to  be  paid  to  the  Moose  River 
bridge  near  the  town  farm  except  the  curious  circumstance  that 
this  is  one-half  of  a  bridge  washed  by  high  water  from  its  moor- 
ings at  the  Center  Village  ;  Ephraim  Stone,  who  for  many  years 
was  pontifex  maximus  of  Caledonia  County,  recovered  and  recon- 
structed it  on  its  present  abutments ;  the  other  half  was  similarly 
utilized  in  another  part  of  the  town. 

observatory  knob  The  height  of  land  between  Passumpsic 
and  Sleeper's  rivers  known  as  the  Knob  commands  a  clear  view 
of  surrounding  towns  and  summits  including  on  the  far  horizon 
the  peaks  of  Willoughby  and  Moosilauke,  Lafayette  and  the  en- 
tire presidential  range.  A  lookout  on  this  point  erected  in  1887 
was  destroyed  by  high  winds  in  October  1894.  The  next  year  C. 
S.  Hastings  and  associates  secured  subscriptions  amounting  to 
$182  for  the  new  Observatory,  an  open  structure  standing  15  feet 
square  and  flying  a  flag  42  feet  from  the  ground  which  at  this 
point  is  1091  feet  above  sea  level.  The  place  became  a  resort  for 
hill  climbers  and  junketing  parties,  and  for  nearly  20  years  reso- 
lutely clung  to  its  high  perch  withstanding  assaults  of  the  ele- 
ments, a  conspicuous  and  ornamental  feature  of  the  landscape 
till,  to  everyone's  regret,  the  fury  of  a  storm  in  January  1914 
swept  it  from  view. 


FRAGMENTS  549 

FRAGMENTARY   ITEMS 
A    CALL   TO   AFRICA 

Henry  M.  Stanley's  first  visit  to  this  town  was  December  10, 
1886,  when  he  gave  his  lecture  on  The  Dark  Continent.  While 
sitting  that  evening  in  the  parlors  of  Pinehurst  a  cablegram  from 
London  was  handed  him  containing  a  call  to  take  command  of  a 
relief  expedition  for  Emin  Pasha,  in  response  to  which  he  sailed 
for  England  four  days  later.  On  the  14th  of  February  1890, 
having  just  emerged  from  Darkest  Africa,  he  wrote  from  Cairo  : — 
"I  remember  the  warm  reception  I  received  at  St.  Johnsbury,  and 
there  too  I  received  the  summons  to  enter  Africa  again.  *  *  * 
The  end  crowns  the  work,  which  is  now  accomplished  ;  true  I  am 
blanched  and  white  but  what  matters  it  ?  If  any  mission  of  a  like 
nature  presented  itself  I  should  still  wish  to  do  it."  He  accepted 
the  invitation  to  revisit  St.  Johnsbury  and  gave  his  lecture  on 
Darkest  Africa  in  Music  Hall  January  13,  1891,  before  a  crowded 
house.  Dr.  Lamson  in  presenting  him  said:  "By  his  energy 
this  man  has  given  a  continent  to  the  world,  and  the  continent 
has  been  more  than  just  in  giving  this  man  to  the  world  ;  Africa 
uncovered,  if  it  did  not  discover,  the  man  whose  genius  is  the 
genius  of  duty." 

The  ends  of  the  earth  have  at  different  times  been  well  rep- 
resented on  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  lecture  course  in  Music  Hall  by  three 
distinguished  explorers  whom  we  may  designate  as  Stanley 
Africanus,  Kennan  Siberiensis,  Peary  Arcticus.  At  the  reception 
given  to  Stanley  in  the  Athenaeum  1886,  he  was  surprised  to  meet 
a  man  whom  he  had  last  seen  in  Mozambique  and  to  be  greeted 
by  two  young  persons,  natives  of  Africa,  in  the  Zulu  tongue. 

There  was  even  more  variety  of  tongues  at  Principal  Fuller's 
Thanksgiving  dinner  table  in  South  Hall,  1878,  where  conversa- 
tion by  twelve  persons  was  held  in  thirteen  different  languages  ,* 
there  were  at  that  time  pupils  in  the  Academy  from  widely  sepa- 
rated mission  fields  of  several  continents. 

The  town  has  not  succeeded  in  keeping  its  name  constant; 
variants  have  ranged  from  de  Crevecceur's  original  contrivance  of 


550  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

St.  Johnsbury,  to  St.  Johnsborough,  St.  Johnsville,  St.  Jones- 
burgh,  St.  Johnstown,  Saint  Scaleville,  and  F.  Hopkinson  Smith's 
pseudonymous  "West  Norrington,  Vt.,  built  on  a  high  plateau 
where  you  may  get  five  meals  for  a  dollar." 

The  town  may  be  reached  by  any  one  of  a  number  of  trains. 
In  1850  there  was  one  passenger  train  a  day  and  one  for  freight ; 
in  1880  the  number  had  multiplied  to  28  trains  a  day  on  the  two 
lines,  and  the  number  has  not  varied  much  since  that  time.  In 
1900  the  yearly  tonnage  received  at  the  freight  station  was 
156,829,000  pounds ;  in  1912  it  was  161,587,452  pounds,  of  which 
9,214,338  pounds  were  from  the  Passumpsic  road  and  4,251,283 
from  the  Lake  line  monthly.  An  average  of  500  carloads  a  week 
are  received  and  dispatched. 

scientific  balloting  The  Australian  ballot  system  was  in- 
troduced for  municipal  elections  of  the  village  January,  1900 ;  four 
years  later  it  was  adopted  by  the  town  at  the  freemen's  meeting 
of  1894.  There  was  no  haste  on  the  part  of  some  for  exchanging 
the  simple  usage  born  in  the  Mayflower  for  a  cumberous  system 
imported  from  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  but  experience  has 
justified  its  adoption  and  the  voluminous  sheets  of  candidates  for 
office  continue  to  be  carefully  checked  up  by  the  voter  in  his  soli- 
tary booth  with  the  town  pencil  tied  to  a  string  on  the  wall. 
The  ballots  for  freemen's  meeting  November  3,  1914,  carried  131 
printed  names,  some  duplicated ;  at  the  first  voting  1609  ballots 
were  cast,  a  bunch  as  we  might  say  of  210,779  names  in  all,  that 
went  into  the  ballot  boxes  in  the  endeavor  to  express  the  sove- 
reign will  of  the  town. 

TABLE  OF  POPULATION  ACCORDING  TO  THE  CENSUS  DECADES 


1790 

143 

1830 

1592 

1870 

4665 

1800 

663 

1840 

1887 

1880 

5801 

1810 

1334 

1850 

2758 

1890 

6567 

1820 

1404 

1860 
1910 

3470 
8098 

1900 

7010 

The  grand  list  of  1790  was  $408.10  ;  in  1910  it  was  $41,333.58 
and  in  1914  it  was  $74,792.90. 


FRAGMENTS  551 

longevity  The  town  has  had  no  remarkable  record  of 
longevity.  One  or  two  items  however  may  be  mentioned.  Of 
the  19  charter  members  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church  of 
1825,  two  attained  93  years,  two  92  years,  one  and  perhaps  two 
90  years,  three  80-85  years,  three  over  70  years,  and  the  youngest 
died  in  her  60th  year.  In  1870  there  were  six  nonagenarians,  one 
of  whom  was  95,  and  27  octogenarians,  one  of  whom  was  89 — the 
average  age  of  these  33  was  84  years.  Of  the  few  centenarians, 
Mrs.  Betsy  Stevens  reached  101  years,  Mrs.  Abel  Butler  102 
years ;  Mrs.  Mary  Brodie  Clement  of  Goss  Hollow  died  Sept.  25, 
1889  at  the  age  of  114  years,  4  months,  20  days  according  to 
records  filed  at  the  town  clerk's  office  ;  her  husband  died  14  years 
earlier  having  attained  only  100  years. 

Arrivals  during  the  seventies  for  permanent  residence — 
Abraxa  Ribearia  Currant  Worm  1871 ;  Doryphora  Decemlineata 
Potato  Beetle  1874  ;    Passer  Domesticus  English  Sparrow,  1876. 


XLI 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Commemoration  of  the  one  hundred  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
of  the  town  was  held  August  15-17,  1912.  No  single  event  in  its 
history  ever  engaged  the  eager  attention  of  so  many  people  of  all 
ages  and  classes ;  it  was  quaint  and  fittingly  spectacular,  dignified 
and  impressive ;  it  evoked  patriotic  town  sentiment  and  inspira- 
tions to  good  citizenship.  The  Commercial  Club  thro  its  com- 
mittees took  the  initiative  and  individuals  guaranteed  the  neces- 
sary funds  which  approximated  $7000.  The  text  of  the  drama, 
a  pamphlet  of  86  pages,  was  prepared  by  William  Chauncey  Lang- 
don  of  New  York,  a  master  in  pageantry,  whose  imaginative 
genius  created  the  interludes  with  dances  of  the  Nature  Spirits, 
and  wove  into  the  episodes  historic  incidents  and  personages 
taken  from  the  first  manuscript  pages  of  this  book.  Miss  Madeline 
Randall  was  director  of  the  dances  and  B.  C.  Peters  of  the  music, 
much  of  which  was  composed  for  the  occasion  and  rendered  by'  a 
chorus  of  a  hundred  voices  and  fifty  orchestral  instruments. 
Nearly  700  actors  appropriately  costumed  had  part  in  the  scenes 
and  ten  thousand  spectators  looked  down  upon  them  from  the 
grand  stand. 

The  theatre  was  felicitously  chosen  on  one  of  the  high  levels 
of  the  golf  course  near  the  Old  Pine  tree  and  overlooking  St. 
Johnsbury  Plain.  The  entire  setting  was  ideal ;  it  was  as  if 
Nature  foreseeing  the  event,  had  planned  her  construction  work 
expressly  for  it — laying  out  a  greensward  floor  flanked  on  the 
rear  by  the  forest  and  opening  frontwise  down  the  pasture  slope 
upon  the  village  nestled  amongst  the  trees,  beyond  which  the 
river  valleys  stretch  miles  away  toward  the    far   horizon.      To 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY  553 

spectators  of  the  Pageant  the  effect  of  the  play  was  heightened 
by  the  historic  spots  in  full  view  and  the  picturesque  scenery 
beyond — as,  on  a  more  imposing  scale  spectators  from  the  seats 
of  the  Dionysiac  theatre  of  Athens  witnessed  the  dramas  of  their 
great  tragedians  and  at  the  same  time  had  before  their  eyes  the 
marble  temples  of  their  beautiful  city,  the  stream  of  Ilissus, 
the  heights  of  Hymettus  and  the  blue  waters  of  the  sea. 

The  Pageant  opened  with  a  dramatic  scene  representing  the 
ancient  wilderness.  Down  from  under  the  Old  Pine  Tree  stalks 
the  primeval  Power  of  the  Wilderness,  a  gigantic  figure,  shaggy- 
haired,  girt  about  the  loins  with  bear  skins,  brandishing  his  huge 
club,  breaking  the  stillness  of  the  forest  with  weird  howls.  Be- 
hind him  and  subject  to  him  flock  the  Spirits  of  the  Mountains 
and  Forests  with  flying  hair  and  fluttering  scarfs,  waving  green 
boughs  of  pine  and  maple.  Up  from  the  lower  level  come  the 
graceful  Spirits  of  the  Rivers  and  the  Valleys  in  three  streams 
(Passumpsic,  Moose  and  Sleeper)  garlanded  with  wild  flowers, 
draped  in  shimmering  white  and  blue,  their  rippling  veils  sugges- 
tive of  rapids  and  waterfalls.  All  alike  are  subject  and  submis- 
sive to  the  stern  Power  of  the  Wilderness  till  at  a  clear  trumpet 
call  from  the  orchestra  the  Spirit  of  Civilization  enters  with 
stately  step.  She  is  robed  in  white  with  a  golden  girdle,  a  sheaf 
of  wheat  on  her  arm  and  in  her  hand  a  sickle.  At  the  sight  of 
her  the  Wilderness  becomes  defiant  and  angrily  brandishes  his 
club.  She  advances  confidently  and  sweeps  across  the  arena 
with  the  air  of  one  born  to  command.  In  the  dramatic  dances 
that  follow  she  brings  the  wild  Nature  Spirits  under  the  spell  of 
her  queenly  dignity  and  refinement,  and  the  scowling  Giant  of  the 
Wilderness,  defeated,  slowly  retreats  backward  up  the  hills  into 
the  gloom  of  the  forest.  The  Spirit  of  Civilization  moving  to 
the  music  of  her  motif  from  the  orchestra,  leads  the  wild  romp- 
ing Spirits  of  the  Rivers  and  Valleys  in  triumphant  march  down 
toward  the  meadows. 

Episode  1  The  red  Indians  skulking  along  the  edge  of  the 
forest  spy  a  moose  ;  they  bring  him  down  with  their  arrows  and 
after  a  hunt-dance  around  him  lug  him  off  behind  the  hemlocks. 


554  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Enter  at  this  point  the  Rangers  led  by  scouts  Nash  and  Stark  in 
their  buckskin  breeches  and  coonskin  caps ;  there  are  shots  and 
shouts  and  war-whoops  amongst  the  hemlocks,  and  a  young  Indian 
emerging  falls  dead  where  the  moose  fell  just  before.  The 
Rangers  carry  off  the  moose,  the  dead  Indian  gets  up  and  sings  a 
plaintive  death  song,  he  is  then  picked  up  by  his  tribesmen  and 
carried  off  into  the  forest.  It  is  a  second  prefiguring  of  the 
passing  of  the  Wilderness  and  the  Savage. 

"The  old  order  changeth,  yielding  place  to  new." 

Note.  At  this  point  a  cablegram  just  received  from  Dr. 
Lionel  de  Crevecoeur  representing  the  present  day  family  of  the 
town  god-father,  is  read — conveying  thanks  for  invitation  to  the 
hospitalities  of  the  town,  and  congratulations  on  the  Pageant 
in  which  he  had  been  invited  to  personate  his  distinguished  ances- 
tor.    The  text  of  the  cablegram  is  here  given  : — 

Paris,  France,  August  15,  1912. 
L'  Co  Edward  T.  Fairbanks, 

Famille  St.  Jean  Crevecceur  reconnaissante  invitation 
recemment  recue  vous  adresse  sinceres  remerciements 
compliments  bien  cordiaux. 

Episode  2.  Jonathan  Arnold  appears  with  Surveyor  General 
Whitelaw  and  Martin  Adams  carrying  compass  and  chain ;  they 
are  laying  out  proprietors'  lots,  sighting  from  the  Old  Pine  Tree 
which  Dr.  Arnold  thinks  will  last  at  least  125  years,  even  tho 
struck  by  lightning.  Plans  and  prospects  for  the  new  town  are 
talked  over.  Presently  around  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  comes 
Gen.  Joel  Roberts  with  the  bag  of  potatoes  and  jug  of  rum  that 
he  has  brought  up  on  foot  from  Barnet,  and  Tom  Todd  comes 
along  kicking  his  one  big  potato  up  home.  They  discuss  the  old 
Dunmore  grant,  Arnold's  fight  for  Vermont  in  Continental  Con- 
gress, and  all  sing  "Down  with  the  Yorkers."  Mrs.  Arnold  joins 
the  circle  with  her  children  and  Aunt  Ruth  the  negress  who  was 
given  to  the  family  as  a  slave  in  Rhode  Island.  The  Doctor 
points  out  the  beauty  of  the  situation,  the  spot  at  the  head  of  the 
Plain  where  the  family  home  shall  be  with  lilacs  growing  around 
it—' 'lilacs  that  will  spread  like  my  new  town,  a  beautiful,  clean, 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY  555 

upright  free  city  extending  down  into  the  valley  and  even  beyond, 
climbing  up  on  to  the  hills  across  the  river." 

Episode  3  Pioneer  sociability  and  business,  1790-1800.  Ox 
teams  are  driven  up  by  Roberts,  Lord,  Hawkins,  Spaulding  and 
others,  wives  and  children,  on  the  way  to  Eleazar  Sanger's  at 
Center  Village  on  Town  Meeting  day.  They  bring  spinning 
wheels  and  whatever  else  in  the  way  of  pies,  cheese  and  liquid 
refreshment  will  contribute  to  the  annual  town-meeting-day- 
junket.  Spinning  begins  and  town  affairs  are  discussed;  it  is 
agreed  that  there  must  be  a  bounty  on  wolves  and  a  set  of  town 
weights  and  measures  purchased.  A  girl  on  horseback  appears,  it 
is  Elathan  Ide  who  lays  down  hard  cash  to  pay  for  her  father's  land 
right ;  haymakers  come  along  with  their  scythes,  they  are  thirsty 
and  Charlotte  Lovell  is  mounted  on  a  horse  and  sent  down  to  the 
Plain  to  get  them  a  jug  of  rum ;  the  lad  Stephen  Hawkins  is 
promised  a  nice  girl  if  he  will  go  and  get  Mrs.  Brown  to  witness 
the  Shorey-Hawkins  deed ;  the  Post-Rider's  horn  is  heard  and 
Bill  Trescott  delivers  the  scanty  mail  from  his  saddle  bags  and  is 
persuaded  to  recite  some  of  his  famous  poetry.  Jonathan  Sanger 
blows  the  dinner  horn  and  all  move  happily  together  to  the  festal 
board. 

Interlude  The  Fields  and  the  Streams.  From  either  side 
come  dancing  into  view  the  Spirits  of  the  Fields  and  Spirits 
of  the  Rivers.  Their  forceful  whirls  and  the  spirited  toss 
of  their  veils  indicate  rivalry  as  to  which  shall  have  the  lead 
in  the  future  of  the  town,  the  farms  or  the  factories.  Sud- 
denly the  Spirit  of  the  Future  appears  ;  her  manner  at  first  is 
expressive  of  uncertainty  and  doubt ;  she  peers  wonderingly  thro 
the  ripples  of  her  streaming  hair,  scans  the  horizon,  seems  to 
catch  a  vision  then  to  lose  it ;  glides  away  but  quickly  returns. 
The  Fields  and  the  Streams  each  beckon  her  to  their  side,  appeal- 
ing to  her  with  winsome  ways,  the  orchestra  in  like  manner 
changing  the  motif  from  one  to  the  other.  At  last  the  vista  of 
the  Future  seems  to  open  to  her,  the  Rivers  will  have  preemi- 
nence ;  advancing  to  their  side  she  stands  like  a  goddess  awarding 
to  them   the  decrees  of   destiny  ;    hereafter  at  this  junction   of 


556  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

streams   the  water-wheels    of  the    Rivers  shall  rank  above   the 
harvests  of  the  Fields. 

Episode  4-  The  Old  First  Church  1809.  Hubbard  Lawrence 
leads  up  the  nineteen  men  and  women,  who  have  come  hither  on 
foot  or  on  horseback  to  be  united  into  a  church.  Dr.  Leonard 
Worcester  has  come  over  from  Peacham  to  preside  at  the  Council. 
Nineteen  out  of  twelve  hundred  population  seems  to  him  a  feeble 
flock,  too  small  to  meet  the  tides  of  ungodliness  around  them  ; 
Lawrence  replies  :  "Sirs,  this  business  must  go  on  ;  we  are  too 
poor  to  live  longer  without  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel."  The 
Council  realizes  that  the  Spirit  of  God  animates  them  ;  they  are 
immediately  organized  as  the  Congregational  Church  of  St.  Johns- 
bury,  and  all  join  together  praising  God  by  singing  "Hark  from 
the  tombs  a  doleful  sound."  Rev.  Pearson  Thurston  is  introduced 
as  the  minister ;  the  men  greet  him  with  low  bows  and  the  women 
with  respectful  curtsies  and  all  give  a  handshake  greeting ;  no 
sooner  done  than,  according  to  usage,  he  is  accosted  by  the  con- 
stable and  ordered  to  depart  from  the  town  lest  he  some  time 
might  become  a  town  charge.  The  nest  full  of  the  Wing  family, 
nine  little  Wings,  are  presented  one  by  one  for  baptism,  after 
which  the  entire  congregation  led  by  clarinet,  flute  and  bass  viol 
retire,  singing 

"The  New  Jerusalem  comes  down 
Adorned  with  shining  grace. " 

EpisodeS  The  Invention  of  the  Scale  1830.  A  clumsy  old 
wooden  steelyard  beam  is  set  up,  and  a  man  from  Danville  drives 
his  load  of  hemp  under  it  to  be  weighed  ;  the  cart  is  lifted  by 
chains  that  grapple  the  axles  and  Francis  Bingham  figures  the 
weight  at  about  three-quarters  of  a  ton.  Thaddeus  Fairbanks 
tells  Bingham  he  thinks  an  apparatus  that  can  only  get  some- 
where near  the  weight  isn't  good  for  much  ;  if  it  is  only  pretty 
nearly  right  it  is  all  wrong.  He  has  been  studying  on  a  new 
device  just  finished  which  has  a  platform  set  on  four  knife-edge 
bearings  which  he  would  call  a  platform  scale;  it  is  brought  up, 
the  load  is  put  on  the  platform  and  the  true  weight  is  found  to  be 
1482  pounds  exactly.  The  farmer  is  better  satisfied  with  this 
figure  than  with  the  one  that  Bingham  got,  and  says  that  Danville 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY  557 

will  want  one  of  those  scales  ;  he  thinks  there  ought  to  be  money 
in  that  device,  to  which  the  inventor  replies  that  he  wouldn't  care 
to  take  $1000  for  it  right  now.  He  is  going  to  start  on  horse- 
back for  Washington  in  a  few  days  to  get  a  patent  on  the  new 
Fairbanks  scale.  The  man  from  Danville  thinks  it  will  surely 
make  a  big  industry  for  St.  Johnsbury  one  of  these  days.  (Thad- 
deus  Fairbanks  was  personated  by  his  son  Henry,  himself  an  in- 
ventor and  an  octogenarian,  who  came  driving  onto  the  field  cor- 
rectly costumed,  in  the  antiquated  chaise  of  four-score  years 
agone.) 

Episode  6  The  Railroad  1850.  Citizens  who  have  been  for 
years  trying  to  secure  railway  communication  are  exchanging 
congratulations  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  November — Fairbanks, 
Jewett,  Paddock,  Ramsey,  Ely,  Chadwick  and  others.  The  new 
order  of  things  and  new  prospects  for  business  are  talked  over. 
A  stage  coach  passes  by,  a  whistle  is  heard,  and  down  on  the 
lower  level  of  the  pasture  is  seen  a  moving  train  of  cars  pulled 
along  by  the  Caledonia,  the  first  locomotive  that  brought  pas- 
sengers into  the  town.  Everybody  is  moving  forward  to  catch  a 
view  of  this  novel  sight ;  Erastus  Fairbanks,  president  of  the 
road,  hastens  with  them  leaving  his  cane  sticking  in  the  ground ; 
Willard  Brockway  of  Sutton  has  a  round  yellow  thing  in  his  hand, 
his  boy  wonders  what  it  is  ?  and  he  is  told  to  carry  it  home  as  the 
first  orange  ever  seen  in  Sutton,  but  now  that  the  railroad  is  here 
there'll  be  oranges  and  plenty  of  other  good  things  coming  up 
that  way.  All  agree  that  this  is  a  great  day  for  St.  Johnsbury 
and  announcement  is  made  by  the  President  that  within  three 
months  last  past  the  stock  of  this  road  has  advanced  from  $83  to 
$91  on  the  Boston  exchange. 

Interlude  Trade  of  the  World.  Uncle  Sam  (ever  Young) 
appears  in  his  striped  trousers  and  big  hat,  and  with  him  youthful 
Rollo  in  green  representing  Vermont.  Some  men  disputing  over 
a  matter  in  trade  appeal  to  him.  Uncle  not  being  able  to  settle  the 
case  satisfactorily  sends  Vermont  out  to  bring  up  one  of  those 
newly  invented  scales.  This  results  in  a  clear  and  ready  adjust- 
ment of  the  difficulty.  Fourteen  different  world  nations  in  their 
varied  costumes  begin  coming  up  in  long  line  to  the  benignant 


558  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Uncle  of  the  World  desiring  his  aid  in  arbitrating  their  commer- 
cial disputes.  His  good  offices  are  graciously  given  and  their 
trade  transactions  are  all  equitably  adjusted  on  the  St.  Johnsbury 
scale.  This  done  the  nations  are  marshaled  in  double  line  and 
execute  a  quick-step  recessional  to  the  strains  of  Yankee   Doodle. 

Episode  7  The  County  Seat  1856.  A  series  of  coffins  leis- 
urely carried  across  the  green  represents  the  removal  of  bodies 
from  the  old  burial  ground  to  make  way  for  the  county  building 
soon  to  be  erected.  Bystanders  interject  suitable  remarks,  in- 
cluding a  reference  to  Yorick  whom  the  foreman  is  quite  sure  was 
never  buried  here.  A  Danville  man  strongly  disapproves  this 
transfer  of  the  county-shire  from  his  town,  but  the  timely  and 
realistic  appearance  of  Judge  Poland  on  the  scene  gives  opportu- 
nity for  setting  forth  conclusively  why  St.  Johnsbury  is  now  the 
only  suitable  place  for  the  Court  House,  and  moreover  the  town 
itself  is  contributing  $5770  toward  the  building  expense  of  it.  It 
is  finally  agreed  that  the  spot  where  the  dead  were  awaiting  judg- 
ment is  an  appropriate  place  for  the  living  now  to  be  receiving 
judgment. 

Episode  8  The  Civil  War  1861.  Veterans  of  the  Grand 
Army  bearing  their  battle  flag  pace  across  the  field,  greeted  with 
rising  applause.  Boys  in  blue  of  the  younger  generation  person- 
ate the  scenes  which  the  soldiers  of  the  Third  Regiment  were 
actors  in  half  a  century  ago.  They  are  reviewed  by  Governor 
Fairbanks  who  reads  a  requisition  just  received  by  telegraph  from 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  forward  the  regiment  at  once.  A  group 
of  women  appear  with  the  regimental  flag  which  they  have  hastily 
made ;  it  is  formally  presented  by  the  Governor,  and  Captain 
Allen  replies  "we  will  bear  it  on  to  victory,  or  sleep  in  honorable 
graves  beneath  its  folds/'  Farewells  follow  and  all  march  for- 
ward to  the  strains  of  the  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic. 

Ep>'soi*  9  Depression  and  Prosperity.  Men  representing 
the  industries  of  the  town  are  discussing  conditions  and  prospects 
which  are  rapidly  brightening.  Sam  Small  of  Thetford  comes 
with  his  family  carrying  carpet  bags  and  band  boxes  ;  he  is  look- 
ing out  for  a  job,  and  Richard  Towne  thinks  he  can  quickly  get 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY  559 

him  a  place  in  the  Ely  factory.  Men  are  wanted  too  at  the  scale 
works.  A  company  of  French  Canadians  just  arrived  on  the 
morning  train  with  boxes  and  bundles  is  met  by  Father  Boisson- 
nault  who  gives  them  assurance  of  steady  employment  if  they 
continue  industrious  and  trusty,  and  they  all  kneel  to  receive  his 
paternal  benediction.  Everything  promises  well  for  a  brisk  re- 
vival of  business  and  prosperity  in  the  town. 

Interlude  Old  country  folk-dances  in  costume — the  Vintage 
Dance  of  France,  German  Hopping  Dance,  the  Kull-Dansen  of 
Scandinavia,  the  Tarentella  of  Italy,  the  Scotch  Reel  and  St, 
Patrick's  Jig  of  Ireland.  All  mingle  in  a  composite  dance  repre- 
senting the  mingling  activities  of  the  nationalities  in  the  citizen- 
ship of  this  American  town. 

Episode  10  Scale-making  1912.  The  component  parts  of 
various  types  of  large  scales  are  brought  up,  assembled  and  ad- 
justed to  each  other  as  in  the  factory.  After  tests  by  the  in- 
spector they  are  declared  correct,  approved  and  ordered  to  be 
taken  down,  packed  and   shipped  to  different  parts  of  the  world. 

Episode  11  The  Children  of  1912.  Out  from  the  grove  trips 
the  slight  elusive  figure  of  Imagination  ;  she  is  shy  and  sensitive 
but  in  the  exhilaration  of  the  sunlight,  dances,  plays,  skips  up  and 
down,  till  by  and  by  beginning  to  be  lonesome,  she  craves  com- 
panionship. At  the  top  of  the  hill  Boy  Scouts  appear  and  begin 
signaling ;  Camp  Fire  Girls  gather  on  the  slopes  and  kindle  a 
fire ;  little  Danes  come  on  to  the  field  with  their  Dance  of  Greet- 
ing and  Swedes  with  their  Ox-Dansen.  Imagination  enjoys  the 
fun.  Boys  and  girls  out  on  a  Bird-Walk  are  trying  to  identify  the 
Hermit  Thrush  and  Pileated  Woodpecker.  Smaller  children 
come  under  the  wand  of  Imagination  who  weaves  a  spell  over 
them  ;  they  fall  asleep  like  plants  in  the  winter  ;  when  spring  time 
arrives  she  touches  them  one  by  one  with  her  wand  and  they 
awake  like  the  early  flowers  of  April  and  May. 

Episode  12  The  Larger  Responsibility  1912.  Men  of  the 
Commercial  Club  are  considering  public  interests  and  just  now 
inspecting  the  plans  for  the  new  St.  Johnsbury  House.  Members 
of  the  Woman's  Club  come  up  discussing  educational  work,  vil- 


560  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

lage  improvements,  the  district  nurse,  the  fly-pest.  A  stranger 
coming  along  overhears  what  is  being  said,  says  some  good 
words  about  St.  Johnsbury,  but  thinks  there's  need  of  more  pub- 
lic spirit  and  enthusiasm  to  make  this  the  best  town  that  can  be 
found  to  live  in. 

Finale  A  gentleman  of  France  in  the  costume  of  1787,  genial 
and  courtly,  steps  into  view,  looks  around,  takes  a  pinch  of  snuff, 
looks  around  again,  is  evidently  pleased.  He  meets  a  bevy  of 
children,  they  admire  his  foreign  dress,  and  venture  to  ask  his 
name.  "Certainly,  I  am  Monsieur  St.  John  de  Crevecoeur." 
They  recognize  the  name;  from  it  came  the  name  of  the  town, 
they  say.  The  talk  continues  and  presently  he  tells  them  some- 
thing about  the  noble  Knights  of  St.  John  in  the  times  of  the 
Crusaders.  Their  interest  is  excited.  Suddenly  to  their  amaze- 
ment and  delight  a  procession  of  mediaeval  Knights  in  full  armor 
mounted  on  horses  richly  caparisoned  is  seen  winding  in  to  view 
ascending  the  hillside.  At  the  front  rides  the  Knight  of  St. 
Johnsbury  bearing  a  standard  that  displays  the  name  and  the 
arms  of  the  town.  He  is  clad  in  chain-armor,  has  a  red  tunic 
with  eight-pointed  cross,  a  black  mantle  and  red-lined  hood ;  two 
squires  beside  him  represent  the  East  and  Center  villages,  other 
Knights  and  squires  are  for  different  towns  in  Caledonia  county  ; 
there  are  forty  in  all.  They  cross  the  field  and  begin  to  ascend 
the  hill.  From  above  descends  the  white-robed  figure  of  America 
with  flag  and  shield,  and  by  her  side  the  State  of  Vermont.  The 
Knight  of  St.  Johnsbury  dismounts,  is  presented  by  Vermont  to 
America ;  he  kneels  in  homage ;  is  raised  and  receives  at  her 
hands  the  American  flag.  Marshaled  in  a  solid  body  the  entire 
Pageant,  men,  women,  children,  led  by  Monsieur  de  Crevecceur 
and  attended  by  the  Spirit  of  Civilization  and  the  Spirit  of  the 
Future,  with  the  mounted  Knights  a  rear-guard,  marches  up  the 
hill  to  the  Old  Pine  Tree,  singing  with  the  chorus  and  orchestra 
a  song  to  America,  and  disappears  from  the  scene.  It  is  the 
passing  of  the  past  of  the  town  as  presented  in  the  Pageant — 
leaving  imagination  to  picture  on  the  invisible  field  beyond,  the 
working  out  of  a  destiny  worthy  of  her  cherished  traditions  and 
ideals. 


THE  PAGEANT  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY  561 

The  lines  that  follow  were  written  by  one  to  whom  the  scenes 
of  the  Pageant  came  with  a  touch  of  inspiration: — 

THE    HOME    TOWN 

Dear  little  town  among:  the  hills, 

We  sing  thy  praise  today, 
Bring  grateful  homage  from  our  hearts 

That  turn  to  thee  alway. 
And  so  from  every  fireside  hearth 

Shall  glad  thanksgiving  rise 
For  all  thy  sturdy,  earnest  past 

That  littleness  denies. 

Oh,  little  town  among  the  hills, 

We  love  each  winding  street, 
The  shading  elms,  the  quiet  homes 

Where  friends  are  wont  to  meet. 
The  church  spires  pointing  to  the  sky, 

The  bells  that  call  to  prayer, 
The  busy  mart,  the  jostling  throng, 

Life  stirring  everywhere. 

We  love  the  joyous,  gladsome  sound 

Of  children  at  their  play, 
Whose  unrestrain-ed  merriment 

Is  music  all  the  day. 
We  love  the  early  melting  snows 

When  maple  trees  grow  sweet, 
The  long,  bright,  blissful,  Summer  days, 

The  wild  flowers  at  our  feet. 

We  love  thy  wooded  slopes  beyond, 

The  fields  and  meadows  green, 
The  streams  that  trickle  down  the  hills, 

The  verdant  vales  between. 
We  love  the  early  song  of  birds, 

The  thrushes'  mellow  call, 
Diffusing  joy  from  happy  throats 

As  lengthening  shadows  fall. 

Our  tribute  to  those  pioneers 

Who  turned  our  virgin  soil, 
Gave  us  the  heritage  sublime 

That  follows  honest  toil, 
The  strength  that  comes  from  sweated  brow, 

The  horny-handed  might, 
The  powerful  arm,  the  mind  alert, 

These  be  our  free-born  right. 

So,  little  town  among  the  hills, 

Thy  sons  and  daughters  true, 
If  e'er  they've  faltered  in  their  trust, 

Return  with  purpose  new, 
Life's  stern  demands  and  homely  tasks 

With  vigor  to  pursue, 
That  thy  fair  name  be  never  dimmed 

Thy  glory  kept  in  view. 

Caroline  S.  Woodruff. 


562  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

"That  the  former  days  were  better  than  these  ?— thou  dost  not  inquire 
wisely  concerning  this." 

THEN   AND    NOW 

It  was  this  writer's  good  fortune  some  long  while  ago  to  be 
in  one  of  the  villages  of  the  land  that  was  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey.  Thro  the  vista  of  intervening  years  it  lies  in  pleasant 
remembrance  like 

"Sweet  Auburn,  lovliest  village  of  the  plain." 

The  flow  of  life  went  quietly  along  from  one  day  to  another, 
rarely  stirred  out  of  the  ordinary  unless  under  spasmodic  stimulus 
of  some  whig  and  loco-foco  politics  or  the  lively  doings  of  train- 
ing day.  Everybody  knew  everybody  and  almost  all  were  neigh- 
borly ;  some  queer  folks  there  were,  angular  or  cranky  and  some 
who  must  have  things  their  own  way,  but  prevailing  public  senti- 
ment was  strong  for  sobriety  and  civic  virtue.  Boys  and  girls 
were  encouraged  to  be  correct  and  dutiful  and  regardful  of  pro- 
prieties. The  Sabbath  was  an  holy  day  and  people  went  up  to  the 
meeting  house  for  worship. 

Happy  little  village,  of  small  white  houses  with  old  fashioned 
larkspur  and  hollyhocks  inside  the  picket-fenced  door  yards — a 
couple  of  stores,  a  tavern,  a  plain  meeting  house,  a  good  school 
leading  up  presently  to  a  modest  little  academy ;  a  footpath  by 
the  roadway  where  one  could  walk  amongst  browsing  cows  not 
yet  dehorned,  or  after  nightfall  with  lantern  in  hand  ;  house  doors 
locked  or  not  as  you  please,  the  nine  o'clock  bell  hinting  approach- 
ing bed  time;  railways  150  miles  off,  telephones  if  anything  a 
romance  of  Jupiter's  moons.  Happy  village  ;  no  police,  no  jail, 
not  even  the  old  time  whipping  post  and  stocks.  Did  ever  any 
operations  of  the  works  of  darkness  disturb  those  peaceful  pre- 
cincts, I  wonder?  Yes,  somewhat ;  now  and  then  something 
happened ;  here  and  there  the  church  records  even  cast  a  shadow 
on  the  scene.  But  back  of  every  such  thing  were  effective  safe- 
guards ;  a  well-defined  public  opinion,  community  spirit  that  was 
decisive  and  controlling,  a  village  atmosphere  wholesome  above 
the  average. 


THEN  AND  NOW  563 

Is  it  then  a  sorry  change  that  has  come  to  pass — population 
quadrupled,  manufactures  built  up,  trains  running  in  from  four 
quarters,  free  mail  delivery,  the  word  city  printed  on  the  dump 
carts  ?  No  one  is  saying  so.  Better  is  the  new  than  the  old  if 
the  heart  of  the  community  is  sound  and  right-spirited. 

Better  the  hundreds  of  homes  on  the  old  hay  fields  and  pas- 
tures, the  lines  of  brick  blocks,  banks,  well  furnished  stores  ;  the 
net  work  of  wires  that  flash  light  from  the  pole  tops,  that  carry 
messages  over  the  path  where  the  errand  boy  used  to  run  or 
loiter,  used  to  give  or  forget  his  message.  Better  a  new  Acad- 
emy, Athenaeum,  Music  Hall,  Museum,  Sunset  Home,  Hospitals, 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  ten  churches  loyally  sustained  ;  better  a  county 
building  in  the  heart  of  the  village  than  an  old  tangled  burial 
yard,  better  a  cemetery  on  the  sunny  slope  lovingly  kept  and 
adorned.  The  hum  of  many  prospering  industries  and  businesses, 
good  ballast,  as  Lowell  has  said,  for  keeping  the  mind  steady  on 
its  keel — is  better  than  any  leisurely  flow  of  life  that  lacks  vigor 
and  stimulus,  then  and  now  here  stand  contrasted—on  the 
other  hand,  now  as  then,  approved  standards  of  life  are  shaping 
public  thought  and  the  best  traditions  of  the  past  will  continue  in 
a  village  dedicated  to  intelligence,  sobriety  and  virtue. 


FAIRBANKS,    EDWARD   TAYLOR 


"Born  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  May  12,  1836  *  *  *  Congregational 
Pastor,  St.  Johnsbury,  1868-1902  *  *  Author  :  The  Wrought  Brim, 
Yale  Class  Histories,  History  of  St.  Johnsbury."' 

Who's  Who  in  America,  1914 


APPENDIX 


TOWN  OFFICERS — MEN  AT  THE  STATE  HOUSE — VOTES  FOR  GOV- 
ERNOR— PRESIDENTIAL  VOTES — VITAL  STATISTICS  —  FLORA 
AND   FAUNA 


"It  is  a  great  excellence  in  a  writer  to  put  into  his  book  as  much  as  his 
book  will  hold."  Doctor  Samuel  Johnson 


STATISTICAL 


On  these  tables  all  blank  spaces  are  to  be  filled  by  the  name 
standing  immediately  above  them. 


PRINCIPAL   TOWN   OFFICERS 


De  Tocqueville  traces  the  whole  form  of  our  American  gov- 
ernment back  to  the  New  England  town  meeting,  which  was 
modeled  on  the  church-meeting  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  in  which 
every  man  was  entitled  to  vote ;  and  this,  as  Thomas  Jefferson 
said,  is  the  only  form  of  pure  democracy  in  the  world. 


Moderator 

Clerk 

Treasurer 

1790 

Jonathan  Arnold 

Jonathan  Arnold 

Jonathan  Adams 

1791 

Joel  Robert* 

1792 

1793 

Bradley  Richards 

1794 

Joseph  Murray 

J.  L.  Arnold 

J.  L.  Arnold 

1795 

Joel  Roberts 

Joel  Roberts 

1796 

Jos.  Armington 

Joseph  Lord 

1797 

John  Ladd 

Abiathar  Dean 

1798 

Joel  Roberts 

TOWN  OFFICERS 


565 


Moderator 

Clerk 

1799 

Joel  Roberts 

Nathaniel  Edson 

1800 

Sam  1  B.  Goodhue 

1801 

Joel  Roberts 

1802 

1803 

Alexander  Gilchrist 

1804 

1805 

1806 

1807 

Lt.  John  Ladd 

1808 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1809 

Luther  Jewett 

Luther  Clark 

1810 

1811 

1812 

Maj.  Abel  Butler 

1813 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1814 

Luther  Jewett 

1815 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1816 

1817 

1818 

Pres  West 

1819 

1820 

Daniel  Chamber! in 

1821 

Pres  West 

1822 

1823 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1824 

Abel  Butler 

1825 

Pres  West 

1826 

Sam'l  Wheeler 

Jerry  Dickerman 

1827 

1828 

Maj.  Lovell  Moore 

1829 

1830 

1831 

Jonas  Flint 

1832 

1833 

1834 

Jonas  Flint 

Jerry  Dickerman 

1835 

Jubal  Harrington 

1836 

Jonas  Flint 

1837 

Calvin  Jewett 

1838 

1839 

1840 

1841 

Jonas  Flint 

1842 

1843 

Moses  Hill 

1844 

1845 

Jubal  Harrington 

1846 

David  W.  Lee 

1847 

1848 

John  Morse 

1849 

1850 

Moses  Hill 

1851 

Treasurer 
Joel  Roberts 


Eleazer  Sanger 


R.  W.  Fenton 
Daniel  Packard 


John  Clark 


Hubbard  Lawrence 
John  Clark 


Thos.  Pierce  Jr. 
Wm.  P.  Stoughton 


1853 


566 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Moderator 

1854 

John  Morse 

1855 

Geo.  A.  Merrill 

1856 

Calvin  Morrill 

1857 

1858 

James  Harris 

1859 

Calvin  Morrill 

1860 

1861 

Barron  Moulton 

1862 

1863 

1864 

Geo.  A.  Merrill 

1865 

Calvin  Morrill 

1866 

Ephraim  H.  Stone 

1867 

Calvin  Morrill 

1853 

Jonathan  Ross 

1869 

Calvin  Morrill 

1870 

Charles  S.  Dana 

1871 

Franklin  Fairbanks 

1872 

Calvin  Morrill 

1873 

Franklin  Fairbanks 

1874 

Calvin  Morrill 

1875 

A.  M.  Dickey 

1876 

1877 

Henry  C.  Ide 

1878 

A.  M.  Dickey 

1879 

Walter  P  Smith 

1880 

Franklin  Fairbanks 

1881 

L.  P.  Poland 

1882 

Franklin  Fairbanks 

1883 

N.  M.  Johnson 

1884 

Franklin  Fairbanks 

1885 

N.  M.  Johnson 

1886 

Henry  C.  Bates 

1887 

1888 

Alexander  Dunnett 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

Elisha  May 

1893 

Harry  Blodgett 

1894 

Alex.  Dunnett 

1895 

Henry  C.  Bates 

1896 

Arthur  F.  Stone 

1897 

Alex.  Dunnett 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1Q02 

Edwin  L.  Hovey 

1903 

P.  F.  Hazen 

1904 

Alex.  Dunnett 

1905 

Perley  F.  Hazen 

1906 

1907 

Arthur  F.  Stone 

1908 

Harry  H.  Carr 

Clerk 
A.  J.  Willard 


Hubbard  Hastings 


Treasurer 
Wm.  P.  Stoughton 


Hiram  Weeks 
Barron  Moulton 


Hubbard  Hastings 
Barron  Moulton 


Pearl  D.  Blodgett 


P.  D.  Blodgett 


Elijah  D.  Blodgett 


Elijah  D.  Blodgett 


Herbert  W.  Blodgett 


Herbert  W.  Blodgett 


TOWN  OFFICERS 


567 


Moderator 

Clerk 

Treasurer 

1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 

Robert  W.  Simonds 

Harry  H.  Can- 
Joseph  Fairbanks 
John  Rickaby 
Robert  W.  Simonds 

Charles  G.  Braley 
SELECTMEN 

Charles  G.  Braley 

"Beyond   all  doubt  the  New  England  town  selectmen  were  the  most 
remarkable  governing  body  in  the  history  of  mankind." 

Nath.  S.  Shaler 


1790 

Joel  Roberts 

Joseph  Lord 

Martin  Adams 

1791 

Asa  Daggett 

1792 

John  Ladd 

1793 

John  Ladd 

Reuben  Bradley 

1794 

Lt.  John  Ladd 

1795 

1796 

Nathaniel  Edson 

Jeriah  Hawkins 

1797 

Samuel  Pierce 

William  Sumner 

1798 

Jeriah  Hawkins 

Barnabas  Barker 

John  Ladd 

1799 

John  Ladd 

Thomas  Pierce 

1800 

Samuel  Barker 

Simeon  Cobb 

Joel  Hastings 

1801 

Gardner  Wheeler 

Samuel  Barker 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1802 

Ariel  Aldrich 

Thomas  Pierce 

1803 

Thomas  Pierce 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1804 

Luther  Jewett 

1805 

1806 

1807 

Ariel  Aldrich 

Eleazer  Sanger 

1808 

Ariel  Aldrich 

Hubbard  Lawrence 

Stephen  Putnam 

1809 

1810 

1811 

- 

Barnabas  Barker 

1812 

Barnabas  Barker 

Philo  Bradley 

1813 

Philo  Bradley 

Joel  Hastings 

1814 

1815 

1816 

1817 

Gardner  Wheeler 

Josiah  Thurston 

Charles  Hosmer 

1818 

1819 

Daniel  Chamberlin 

Stephen  Hawkins 

1820 

Abel  Butler 

Josiah  Thurston 

1821 

1822 

Ariel  Aldrich 

Gardner  Wheeler 

1823 

1824 

Ezra  Ide 

Josiah  Thurston 

Abel  Butler 

1825 

1826 

Abel  Butler 

Leonard  Harrington 

1827 

Samuel  French 

John  Armington 

568 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


1828 

Samuel  French 

Abel  Butler 

1829 

Abel  M.  Rice 

1830 

Abel  Butler 

1831 

Abel  Butler 

David  Goss,  Jr 

1832 

David  Goss,  Jr. 

Thomas  Pierce,  Jr 

1833 

1834 

1835 

Calvin  Morrill 
Jubal  Harrington 

Abel  Butler 

1836 

Abel  Butler 

Jonas  Flint 

1837 

Thomas  Pierce 

David  Goss,  Jr. 

1838 

1839 

1840 

Lambert  Hastings 

David  W.  Lee 

1841 

1842 

Ezra  Ide 

Jonas  Flint 

1843 

Lewis  Pierce 

Calvin  Morrill 

1844 

1845 

Hiram  Roberts 

1846 

John  Morse 

Russell  Hallett 

1847 

1848 

1849 

David  Chapman 

1850 

David  Chapman 

John  Higgins 

1851 

John  Higgins 

John  Bacon 

1852 

1853 

1854 

1855 

Charles  Blinn 

Abel  Willey 

1856 

Beauman  Butler 

1857 

Beauman  Butler 

Abel  Willey 

1858 

1859 

1860 

1861 

Barron  Moulton 

1862 

Barron  Moulton 

Calvin  Morrill 

1863 

1864 

Calvin  Morrill 

Horace  Paddock 

1865 

1866 

Horace  Paddock 

James  R.  Stevens 

1867 

Calvin  Morrill 

Horace  Paddock 

1868 

J.  H.  Applebee 

1869 

Sias  Randall 

1870 

Henry  C.  Hastings 

1871 

Richard  Peabody 

1872 

Calvin  Morrill 

1873 

1874 

1875 

C.  A.  Sylvester 

Abel  Willey 

1876 

1877 

Wm.  Higgins 

1878 

1879 

Daniel  Carpenter 


1881 


Jacob  Benton 

Daniel  McGregor 

David  Goss,  Jr. 

Thomas  Pierce,  Jr. 

Calvin  Morrill 


Edmund  Hallett 
John  Armington 


John  Morse 

Gardner  Wheeler 
Hiram  Roberts 

Charles  Blmn 
Harris  Knapp 
Charles  Blinn 

David  Chapman 

John  Higgins 

John  Bacon 

David  Goodhall 


Beauman  Butler 

Abel  Willey 

Calvin  Morrill 


J.  H.  Applebee 

James  R.  Stevens 

Simeon  Huse 

Sias  Randall 
George  Ranney 

Ephraim  H.  Stone 

William  Higgins 

L.  P.  Cheney 

Daniel  Carpenter 

A.  R.  Hovey 

James  R.  Stevens 


SELECTMEN 


1883 

Wm,  Higgins 

Daniel  Carpenter 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 
1888 

Daniel  Carpenter 

Charles  Cobb 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

L,  B.  Hartshorn 

1895 

Wm.  B.  Johnson 

1896 

Wm.  B.  Johnson 

Freeman  Pierce 

1897 

George  Ranney 

Ellery  P.  Potter 

1898 

Geo.  W.  Story 

1899 

L.  B.  Hartshorn 

Ellery  P.  Potter 

1900 

1901 

Ellery  P.  Potter 

C.  C.  Follensby 

1902 

C  C.  Follensby 

Harry  H.  Carr 

1903 

1904 

Harry  H.  Carr 

Wesley  Sargent 

1905 

1906 

Wesley  Sargent 

Fred  D.  Gilman 

1907 

1908 

1909 

M.  J.  Hovey 

Charles  Weeks 

1910 

Charles  Weeks 

Geo.  H.  Morrill 

1911 

Geo.  H.  Morrill 

Wm.  F.  Welch 

1912 

Wm.  F.  Welch 

Charles  Weeks 

1913 

1914 

A.  F.  Lawrenee 

569 

James  R,  Stevens 


Charles  Cobb 

E.  L.  Hovey 

O.  P.  Bennett 


L.  B.  Hartshorn 

Charles  Cobb 

Freeman  A.  Pierce 

George  Ranney 

L.  B.  Hartshorn 

Ellery  P.  Potter 

C.  C.  Follensby 

Harry  H.  Carr 
Wesley  Sargent 

Fred  D.  Gilman 

Luraan  H.  Ladd 


Geo.  H.  Morrill 
Wm.  F.  Welch 
Charles  Weeks 
Conrad  F.  Beck 


AT  THE  STATE  HOUSE 


1852 
1860 

1876 


GOVERNORS 

Erastus  Fairbanks 
Horace  Fairbanks 


LIEUT.    GOVERNORS 


1898 
1910 


Henry  C.  Bates 
Leighton  P.  Slack 


SENATORS 


1790-1793     Jonathan  Arnold  during  the  three  years  preceding 
his  death  was  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council.     By  a  change 


570 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


in  the  Constitution  in  1836,  this  Council  was  superseded  by  the 
State  Senate.  It  was  fourteen  years  before  St.  Johnsbury  had  a 
Senator.  Caledonia  members  of  the  Senate  from  this  town  since 
1850  have  been  : — 


1850 

David  Goss,  Jr. 

1876 

Henry  C.  Belden 

1894 

1854 

Asa  L.  French 

1880 

E.  D.  Blodgett 

1898 

1858 

A.  G.  Chadwick 

1882 

Henry  C.  Ide 

1900 

1864 

Chas.  S.  Dana 

1886 

Henry  C.  Bates 

1902 

1867 

Gates  B.  Bullard 

1888 

"           " 

1904 

1869 

Horace  Fairbanks 

1890 

Albro  F.  Nichols 

1908 

1870 

Jonathan  Ross 

1892 

"           " 

1910 

1872 

Calvin  Morrill 

1914 

L.  Downer  Hazen 
Harry  Blodgett 
Alexander  Dunnett 
Truman  R.  Stiles 
Leighton  P.  Slack 
Edward  T.  Fairbanks 
David  E.  Porter 
Robert  W.  Simonds 


TOWN    REPRESENTATIVES 


1791 

Joel  Roberts 

1835 

1793 

Josias  L.  Arnold 

1837 

1796 

Joel  Roberts 

1H40 

1798 

Joseph  Lord 

1812 

1799 

Joel  Roberts 

1843 

1801 

Joseph  Lord 

1845 

1802 

Nathaniel  Edson 

1847 

1805 

Presbury  West 

1849 

1806 

Nathaniel  Edson 

1851 

1807 

Presbury  West 

1853 

1808 

Ariel  Aid  rich 

1854 

1811 

Calvin  Jewett 

1855 

1816 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1857 

1819 

Presbury  West 

1859 

1820 

Abner  Miles 

1861 

1823 

Ephraim  Paddock 

1863 

1827 

Ariel  Aldrich 

1865 

1831 

David  Goss,  Jr. 

18P8 

1834 

Jonas  Flint 

1873 

David  Goss,  Jr. 
Erastus  Fairbanks 
Lambert  Hastings 
Huxham  Paddock 
John  Bacon 
Jos.  P.  Fairbanks 
Moses  Kittredge 
Jerry  Dickerman 
Hiram  Knapp 
J.  P.  Bancroft 
Francis  G.  Parks 
Hubbard  Hastings 
Geo.  A.  Merrill 
Barron  Moulton 
Charles  S.  Dana 
Gates  B.  Bullard 
Jonathan  Ross 
Emerson  Hall 
Franklin  Fairbanks 


1872 
1874 

1878 


1883 
1888 
1890 
1892 
1891 
1896 
1898 
1900 
1904 
1906 
1908 
1910 
1912 
1914 


(Speaker) 
Elijah  D.  Blodgett 
Luke  P.  Poland 
Walter  P.  Smith 
Wm.  P.  Fairbanks 
T.  C.  Fletcher 
L.  D.  Hazen 
Francis  Walker 
Wendell  P.  Stafford 
John  C.  Clark 
Henry  C.  Bates 
Truman  R.  Stiles 
Fred  G.  Bundy 
Wm.  A.  Ricker 
Harry  H.  Carr 
Harland  B.  Howe 
C.  A.  Calderwood 
Dr.  W.  J.  Aldrich 
Fred  D.  Gilman 


TOWN   VOTES    FOR    GOVERNOR 


1794 

Isaac  Tichenor 

6 

Thos.  Chittenden 
Nath.  Niles 

1795 

Thomas  Chittenden 

30 

Isaac  Tichenor 

1796 

Isaac  Tichenor 

24 

Thomas  Chittenden 

1797 

Elijah  Paine 

82 

Isaac  Tichenor 

1798 

Isaac  Tichenor 

43 

Paul  Brigham 

1799 

40 

1800 

39 

1801 

46 

1802 

51 

Israel  Smith 

1803 

66 

Jona.  Robinson 

1804 

67 

1805 

59 

VOTES  FOR  GOVERNOR 


571 


1806 

Isaac  Tichenor 

97 

Israel  Smith 

1807 

73 

1<*08 

96 

1809 

104 

Jonas  Galusha 

1810 

73 

1811 

Martin  Chittenden 

114 

1812 

141 

1813 

132 

1814 

134 

1815 

135 

1816 

Samuel  Strong 

81 

1817 

Jonas  Galusha 

67 

Isaac  Tichenor 

1818 

91 

Charles  Marsh 

1819 

67 

Paul  Brigham 

1820 

Richard  Skinner 

113 

Dudley  Chase 

1821 

105 

Charles  Marsh 

1822 

42 

1823 

Cornelius  P.  Van  Ness 

45 

1824 

36 

Joel  Doolittle 

1825 

126 

1826 

Ezra  Butler 

83 

1827 

60 

Ezra  Ide 

1828 

Samuel  C.  Crafts 

88 

1829 

Heman  Allen 

149 

S.  C.  Crafts 

1830 

Wm.  A.  Palmer 

143 

1831 

180 

Heman  Allen 

1832 

226 

S.  C.  Crafts 

1833 

220 

Ezra  Meech 

1834 

237 

Horatio  Seymour 

1835 

103 

Charles  Paine 

1836 

Silas  H.  Jennison 

141 

W.  C.  Bradley 

1837 

183 

1838 

223 

1839 

198 

Nathan  Smilie 

1810 

240 

Paul  Dillingham 

1841 

Charles  Paine 

211 

Nathan  Smilie 

1842 

241 

1843 

John  Mattocks 

189 

Daniel  Kellogg 

1844 

William  Slade 

270 

1845 

Horace  Eaton 

263 

1846 

256 

John  Smith 

1847 

240 

Paul  Dillingham 

1848 

Carlos  Coolidge 

273 

1849 

291 

Horatio  Needham 

1850 

Charles  K.  Williams 

816 

Lucius  B.  Peck 

1851 

315 

John  S.  Robinson 

1852 

Erastus  Fairbanks 

416 

1853 

427 

1854 

Stephen  Royce 

373 

Merritt  H.  Clark 

1855 

386 

1856 

Ryland  Fletcher 

515 

Henry  Keyes 

1857 

372 

1858 

Hiland  Hall 

385 

1859 

415 

John  G.  Saxe 

Erastus  Fairbanks 


73 

72 

45 

55 

60 

34 

84 

59 

115 

127 

157 

145 

157 

141 

133 

156 

124 

105 

141 

145 

185 

175 

141 

184 

152 

164 

103 

109 

116 

110 

169 

73 


572 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


1861 

Frederick  Holbrook 

305 

Andrew  Tracy 

1862 

280 

B.  B.  Smalley 

1863 

J.  Gregory  Smith 

403 

T.  P.  Redfield 

1864 

426 

C.  N.  Davenport 

1865 

Paul  Dillingham 

380 

1866 

512 

1867 

John  B.  Page 

561 

John  L.  Edwards 

1868 

617 

1869 

Peter  B.  Washburn 

352 

W.  W.  Heaton 

1870 

John  W.  Stewart 

371 

1872 

Julius  Converse 

666 

A.B.Gardiner 

1874 

Asahel  Peck 

700 

1876 

Horace  Fairbanks 

826 

W.  H.  H.  Bingham 

1878 

Redfield  Proctor 

691 

1880 

Roswell  Farnham 

811 

Edward  J.  Phelps 

1882 

John  L.  Barstow 

740 

George  E.  Eaton 

1884 

Samuel  E.  Pingree 

741 

L.  W\  Redington 

1886 

Ebenezer  J.  Ormsbee 

581 

S.  L.  Shurtleff 

1888 

W.  P.  Dillingham 

793 

1890 

Carroll  S.  Page 

551 

H.  F.  Bingham 

1892 

Levi  K.  Fuller 

725 

B.  B.  Smalley 

1894 

Urban  A.  Woodbury 

599 

Geo.  W.  Smith 

1896 

Josiah  Grout 

929 

John  H.  Jackson 

1898 

Edward  C.  Smith 

578 

Thomas  Maloney 

1900 

W.  W.  Stickney 

882 

John  H.  Senter 

1902 

J.  G.  McCullough 

689 

P.  C.  Clement 

1904 

Charles  J.  Bell 

1074 

Eli  H.  Porter 

1906 

Fletcher  D.  Proctor 

696 

P.  C.  Clement 

1908 

Geo.  H.  Prouty 

775 

James  E.  Burke 

1910 

John  M.  Mead 

665 

Charles  D.  Watson 

1912 

Allen  M.  Fletcher 

305 

Harland  B.  Howe 

1914 

Charles  W.  Gates 

700 

W.  J.  Aldrich 

105 

125 

116 

43 

78 
96 

137 
36 
44 

135 

176 
191 
196 
142 
212 
148 
253 
199 


248 
207 
349 
545 
297 
450 
431 
420 
777 
656 


TOWN    PRESIDENTIAL    VOTE 

Read  this  table  from  left  to  right 


1840 

Harrison 

220 

Van  Buren 

113 

1844 

Polk 

137 

Clay 

278 

1848 

Z.  Taylor 

290 

Cass 

151 

1852 

Pierce 

217 

Scott 

434 

1856 

Buchanan 

147 

Fremont 

558 

1860 

Lincoln 

514 

Douglass 

100 

1864 

Lincoln 

612 

McLellan 

116 

1868 

Grant 

722 

Seymour 

93 

1872 

Grant 

753 

Greeley 

131 

1876 

Hayes 

793 

Tilden 

293 

1880 

Garfield 

910 

Hancock 

209 

1884 

Cleveland  246 

Blaine 

779 

1888 

Harrison 

810 

Cleveland 

225 

1892 

Cleveland  300 

Harrison 

712 

1896 

McKinley 

949 

Bryan 

188 

1900 

McKinley  864 

Bryan 

224 

1904 

Roosevelt 

888 

Parker 

158 

1908 

Taft 

752 

Bryan 

233 

1912 

Wilson 

388 

Taft 

536 

1912 

Roosevelt  554 

APPENDIX 
VITAL  STATISTICS 


573 


FIFTY   YEARS    1860-1910 

The  following  table  is  compiled  from  the  state  registration 
records  which  began  with  the  year  1858.  Population  is  reckoned 
as  on  the  first  year  of  each  census  decade.  The  percentage  of 
deaths  to  population  appears  in  the  right  hand  column. 


Year 

Population 

Births 

Marriages 

Deaths 

Per  cent 

1860 

3469 

70 

31 

38 

1.09 

61 

71 

20 

48 

1.36 

62 

63 

28 

44 

1.29 

63 

106 

31 

94 

2.75 

64 

81 

45 

74 

2.13 

65 

93 

60 

92 

2.65 

66 

119 

68 

82 

2.36 

67 

100 

42 

76 

2.19 

68 

118 

52 

59 

1.72 

69 

180 

50 

47 

1.35 

1870 

4665 

150 

41 

77 

1.65 

71 

145 

64 

100 

2.13 

72 

156 

58 

140 

1.31 

73 

173 

76 

99 

2.12 

74 

136 

69 

103 

2.21 

75 

145 

53 

85 

1.83 

76 

154 

65 

79 

1.69 

77 

155 

49 

73 

1.56 

78 

127 

57 

66 

1.41 

79 

160 

44 

89 

1.90 

1880 

5800 

155 

64 

123 

2.63 

81 

161 

66 

124 

2.14 

82 

156 

76 

117 

2.02 

83 

152 

62 

102 

1.71 

84 

181 

58 

142 

2.45 

85 

122 

42 

87 

1.50 

86 

116 

67 

74 

1.27 

87 

147 

70 

105 

1.75 

88 

123 

44 

125 

2.12 

89 

132 

65 

80 

1.37 

1890 

6567 

158 

80 

108 

1.65 

91 

155 

58 

133 

2.02 

92 

143 

73 

122 

1.80 

93 

143 

56 

129 

1.96 

94 

150 

67 

100 

1.50 

95 

129 

56 

95 

1.44 

96 

131 

58 

67 

1.00 

97 

136 

68 

132 

2.01 

98 

118 

65 

162 

2.46 

99 

137 

93 

136 

2.70 

574 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Year 

Population 

Births 

Marriages 

Deaths 

Per  cent 

1900 

7010 

115 

77 

132 

1.88 

01 

128 

95 

146 

2.08 

Of 

147 

88 

139 

1.98 

08 

169 

81 

189 

1.98 

04 

168 

68 

122 

1.74 

05 

182 

84 

153 

2.18 

06 

205 

86 

157 

2.23 

07 

158 

107 

145 

2.07 

08 

188 

75 

143 

2.18 

00 

171 

100 

139 

1.98 

1910 

8098 

191 

82 

144 

1.7* 

FLORA  AND  FAUNA 
From  tables  prepared  at  the  Fairbanks  Museum 


PLANTS   AND   SHRUBS 


Amaranth  Family  Amaranthaceae 

Amaranth  Green  or  Pigweed 
Arum  Family  Araceae 

Arum  Water 

Flag  Sweet 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit 
Balsam  Family  Balsaminaceae 

Touch-me-not  Pale 

Spotted 
Barberry  Family  Berberidaceae 

Barberry  Common 

Cohosh  Blue 
Birthwort  Family  Aristolochiaceae 

Ginger  Wild 

Bluebell  Family  Campanulaceae 

Bellflower  European 
Borage  Family  Boraginaceae 

Forget-me-not 

Smaller 

Gromwell  Common 

Hound's  Tongue 

Stickseed  or  Beggar's  Lice 
Broom-Rape  Family  Orobanchaceae 

Beech-drops 

Cancer-root  One-flowered 

Buckthorn  Family  Rhamnaceae 
Buckthorne  Alder-leaved 


Buckwheat  Family  Polygonaceae 
Bindweed  Fringed  Black 
Buckwheat 

Buckwheat  False  Climbing 
Dock  Bitter 
Dock  Yellow  or  Curled 
India-wheat 
Knotweed  or  Doorweed 
Lady's  Thumb 
Persicaria  Water 
Smartweed  or  Water  Pepper 
Sorrel  Sheep 

Tear-thumb  Arrow-leaved 
Cat-tail  Family  Typhaceae 

Cat-tail 
Composite  Family  Compositae 
Aster,  Arrow-leaved 

Common  Blue  Wood 

Furbish's  Wood 

Large-leaved 

Long-leaved 

Many-leaved 

New  England 

Northeastern 

Purple-stemmed 

Starved 

Tall  Flat-topped  White 

Tall  White  or  Panicled 

Tradescant's 


PLANTS  AND  SHRUBS 


575 


Velvety  Broad-leaved 
Villous  Long-leaved 
Wavy-leaved 
White  Wood 
Whorled  or  Mountain 
Burdock 
Beggar-ticks 

Purple-stemmed 
Chamomille  German 
Chicory 
Coltsfoot 

Sweet 
Cone-flower  Tall  Green-headed 
Cudweed  Low  Marsh 
Daisy  White 

Yellow  or  Brown  eyed  Susan 
Dandelion  Common 

Red-seeded 
Elecampane 
Everlasting  Clammy 
Fragrant 
Pearly 

Plantain-leaved 
Fleabane,  Common 

Daisy 
Fireweed 

Golden-rod  Blue-stemmed 
Bog 
Bushy 
Canada 
Cut-leaved 
Early 

Field  or  Gray 
Hairy 
Late 

Stout-ragged 
Tall  Hairy 
Yellowish-stemmed 
Zig-zag 
Hawkweed  Orange  or  Devil's  Paint-brush 
Panicled 
Rough 
Horse  weed 
Joe  Pye  Weed 
Lettuce  Arrow-leaved 
Hairy 

Hispid  Tall  White 
Tall  Blue 

White  or  Rattlesnake-root 
Wild 
Lion's  Foot 
Marigold  Water 
Mayweed 
Plantain  Robins 
Pineapple-weed 
Ragwort  Golden 


Scabious  Sweet 
Snake-root  White 
Stick-tight 

Sunflower  Pale-leaved 
Prairie 
Woodland 
Tansy 
Thistle,  Canada 

Common  or  Bull 

Common  Sow 

Field 

Field  Sow 

Spiny-leaved  Sow 

Swamp 
Thoroughwort 

Wormwood,  Roman  or  Ragweed 
Yarrow 

Crowfoot  Family  Ranunculaceae 
Anemone  Large  White-flowered 

Long-fruited  or  Thimbleweed 
Wood 
Baneberry  Red 

White 
Buttercup  Bulbous 
Creeping 
Marsh 
Stevens' 
Tall  or  Meadow 
Columbine  Wild 
Crowfoot,  Hook-styled 

Small-flowered 
Goldthread 

Hepatica  Round-lobed 
Sharp-lobed 
Marigold  Marsh 
Meadow-rue  Early 

Purplish 
Tall 
Virgin's  Bower  Purple 
White 
Dogbane  Family  Apocynaceae 
Dogbane,  Spreading 
Indian  Hemp 

Periwinkle  or  "Blue  Myrtle" 
Dogwood  Family— Cornaceae 
Cornel,  Alternate-leaved 

Dwarf  or  Bunchberry 

Red-osier 

Silky 

Evening  Primrose  Family  Onagraceae 
Nightshade  Enchanter's 

Smaller 
Primrose  Evening 
Willow-herb  Downy 

Great  or  Fireweed 


576 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Northern 
Purple-leaved 
Sundrops  Small 
Figwort  Family  Scrophulariaceae 
Beard-tongue 
Brooklime 
Butter  and  Eggs 
Figwort  Hare 

Maryland 
Foxglove 
Monkey  Flower 
Mullein  Common 
Speedwell  Buxbaum's 
Common 
Corn 

Thyme-leaved 
Turtlehead 
Flax  Family  Linaceae 

Flax,  Common 
Four-o'clock  Family  Nyctaginaceae 

Umbrellawort  Heart-leaved 
Fumariaceae  Fumitory  Family 
Corydalis,  Pale 
Dutchman's  Breeches 
Fumitory,  Common  or  Hedge 
Squirrel  Corn 
Gentian  Family  Gentianaceae 
Gentian  Closed 

Spurred 
Pennywort  American  Water 
Geranium  Family  Geraniaceae 

Herb  Robert 
Ginseng  Family  Araliaceae 
Ginseng  Dwarf 
Sarsaparilla 
Spikenard 

Gourd  Family  Cucurbitaceae 

Wild  Balsam-Apple 
Grass  Family  Gramineae 

Barnyard  Grass 

Blue  Grass  Canada 
Kentucky 

Bottle-brush  Grass 

Brome  Grass 

Brome  Grass  Downy 

Brachyelytrum 

Chess  Wild 

Couch  Grass 

Fescue,  Taller  or  Meadow 

Finger  Grass  Smooth 

Foxtail  Green 
Yellow 

Herd's  Grass 

Hungarian  Grass 

Manna-grass  Blunt 


Meadow  Grass  Reed 
Old-witch  Grass 
Panicum  Agrostis-like 
Hairy 
Northern 
Spreading 
Red  Top  Grass 
Rye  Grass  Virginia  Wild 
Thin  Grass 
Goosefoot  Chenopodiaceae 
Goosefoot  Maple-leaved 

Narrow-leaved 
Lamb's  Quarters  or  Pigweed 
Pigweed 

Strawberry  Blight 
Heath  Family  Ericaceae 
Arbutus,  Trailing 
Blueberry 
Indian  Pipe 

Pipsissewa  or  Prince's  Pine 
Pyrola,  One-flowered 
Rhodora 
Shin-leaf 

Wintergreen,  Aromatic  or  Checkerberry 
Greenish-flowered 
Liver-leaf 
One-sided 

Holly  Family  Aquilifoliaceae 

Mountain  Holly 
Honeysuckle  Family  Caprieoliaceae 
Cranberry-tree  or  High  Bush  Cranberry 
Dockmackie  or  Maple-leaved  Arrow-wood 
Elder  Common  or  Sweet 

Red-berried 
Hobble-bush  • 
Honeysuckle  American  Fly 

Bush 

Mountain  Fly 

Swamp  Fly 

Tartarian 
Snowberry 
Twin-flower 
Viburnum..  Sweet  or  Sheepberry 

Iris  Family  Iridaceae 
Grass  Blue-eyed 
Iris  or  Blue  Flag 

Lily  Family  Liliaceae 
Adder's  Mouth  Green 
Adder's  Tongue 
Asparagus 
Bellwort  or  Wild  Oats 

Large-flowered 
Carrion  Flower 
Clintonia 


PLANTS   AND  SHRUBS 


577 


Cucumber-root  Indian 
Hellebore  American  White  or  Poke 
Leek  Wild 
Lily  Cow 

Wild  Yellow 
Lily-of-the-Valley  Wild 
Solomon's  Seal 
False 

Star-flowered  False 
Three-leaved 
Star-of-Bethlehem 
Trillium,  Nodding 
Painted 
Purple 
Twisted-stalk 

Clasping-leaved 
Lobelia  Family  Lobeliaceae 
Lobelia  Brook 

Pale  Spiked 
Tobacco,  Indian 
Lopseed  Family  Phrymaceae 

Lopseed 
Madder  Family  Rubiaceae 
Bedstraw  Marsh 
Northern 
Rough 
Small 

Sweet  scented 
Bluets 

Partridge  Berry 
Mallow  Family  Malvaceae 
Mallow  Common 
European 
Musk 

Mezerum  Family  Thymelaeceae 

Leatherwood  or  Wicopy 
Milkweed  Asclepiadaceae 
Milkweed  Common 
Swamp 
Mint  Family  Labiatae 
Basil 

Bergamot   Wild 
Bugle  Weed 
Gill-over-the-Ground 
Heal-all 

Hoarhound  Cut-leaved  Water 
Mint  American  Wild 
Marsh  Whorled 
Mountain 
Motherwort 
Nettle  Hedge 
Hemp 
Peppermint 
Skullcap  Marsh 

Mad-dog 


Spearmint 
Thyme  Wild 
Mustard  Family  Cruciferae 
Charlock 

Cress  Field  Penny 
Hispid  Marsh 
Marsh 
Water 
Winter 
Wood  Bitter 
Horseradish 
Mustard  Black 

Hare's-ear 
Hedge 
Indian 
Tower 
Tumble 
Wormseed 
Peppergrass  Apetalous 

Wild 
Radish  Wild 

Rutabaga  or  Wild  Turnip 
Shepherd's  Purse 
Toothwort  Two-leaved 
Nettle  Family  Urticaceae 
Clearweed  or  Richweed 
Hop 

Nettle  Slender 
Stinging 
Wood 
Nightshade  Family  Solanaceae 
Cherry  Clammy  Ground 
Nightshade  Common 
Orchis  Orchidaceae 
Calypso 
Coral  Root 

Ladies'  Tresses  Hooded 
Nodding 
Slender 
Lady's  Slipper  Larger  Yellow 
Ram's  Head 
Showy 
Stemless 
Small  Yellow 
Orchis  Hooker's 

Larger  Purple  Fringe 
Long-bracted 
Prairie  White  Fringed 
Round-leaved 
Showy 

Tall  Leafy  Green 
Twayblade 

Orpine  Family  Crassulaceae 
Live  forever  or  Garden  Orpine 
Stonecrop  Mossy 


578 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Parsley  Family  Umbelliferae 

Angelica 

Caraway 

Carrot,  Wild  or  Queen  Ann's  Lace 

Cicely  Smooth  Sweet 
Woolly  Sweet 

Hemlock  Bulb-bearing 

Honewort 

Parsley  Hemlock 

Parsnip  Cow 

Early  Meadow 

Sanicle  or  Black  Snakeroot 
Pink  Family  Caryophyllaceae 

Bouncing  Bet 

Campion  Bladder 

Campion  White 

Catchfly  Night-flowering 

Corn  Cockle 

Chick  weed  Common 
Mouse-ear 

Pink  Ground  or  Moss 

Rocket  Dame's  Violet 

Sandwort  Blunt-leaved 

Starwort  Long-leaved 
Pitcher  Plant  Family  Sarraceniaceae 

Pitcher  Plant 
Plantain  Family  Plantaginaceae 

Plantain  Common 
English 

Primrose  Family  Primulaceae 
Loosestrife  Bulb-bearing 

Fringed 
Moneywort 
Star  Flower 

Poppy  Family  Papavaraceae 
hloodroot 

Pulse  Family  Leguminosae 
Alfalfa  or  Lucerne 
Clover  Alsike 

Rabbit-foot 

Red 

White 

Yellow  or  Hop 
Groundnut 
Melilot  White  or  Sweet  Clover 

Yellow 
Medic  Black 
Tick  Trefoil  Canadian 
Vetch  Blue 

Common 

Purslane  Family  Portulacaceae 
Purslane  Common 
Spring  Beauty 


Rose  Family  Rosaceae 
Agrimony 

Avens  Purple  or  Water 
White 
Yellow 
Blackberry  Common 
Running 
Cinquefoil  Common 
Rough 
Silvery 
Tall 
Meadow-sweet 
Meadow-queen 
Raspberry  Black 
Dwarf 

Purple-flowering 
Red 
Rose  Cinnamon 

Smooth  or  Meadow 
Wild 
Steeple-bush  or  Hardhack 
Strawberry  American  Wood 
Barren 
Common 
St.  Johnswort  Family  Hypericaceae 
St.  Johnswort  Canadian 

Larger  Canadian 

Common 

Corymbed  or  Spotted 

Dwarf 

Elliptic-leaved 

Saxifrage  Family  Saxifragaceae 
Currant  Golden 
Red 
Skunk 
Gooseberry  Prickly 
Smooth 
Grass-of-Parnassus 
Mitrewort  or  Bishop's  Cap 
False 

Naked-stalked 
Saxifrage  Early 
Swamp 

Sedge  Family  Cyperaceae 
Bullrush  Pale-green 

Small-fruited 
Grass  Alpine  Cotton 
Tall  Cotton 
Wool 
Sedge  Awl-pointed 
Crested 
Golden-fruited 
Gray's 

Loose-flowered 
Long-stalked 


PLANTS       MOSSES       FERNS 


579 


Nodding 
Plantain-leaved 
Porcupine 
Slender  Wood 

Spiderwort  Family  Commelinaceae 
Spiderwort  or  Spider  Lily 

Spurge  Family  Euphorbiaceae 

Cypress  Spurge 
Staff-Tree  Family  Celastraceae 

Bittersweet  Climbing 

Verbena  Family  Verbenaceae 
Vervain  Blue 
White 
Vio'et  Family  Violaceae 
Violet  Canada 
Dog 

Downy  Yellow 
Kidney-leaved 
Long-spurred 
Marsh  Blue 
Northern  Blue 
Round-leaved  Yellow 
Selkirk's 
Sweet  White 
Smooth  Yellow 
Woodland  White 
Woolly  Blue 
Vine  Family  Vitaceae 
Grape,  River  Bank  or  Frost 
Virginia  Creeper  or  Woodbine 
Water  Plantain  Family,  Alisnaceae 
Arrowhead  Broad-leaved 

Slender-leaved 
Water  Plantain 
Wood  Sorrel  Family  Oxalidaceae 
Wood  Sorrel  Common 
Lady's 
Upright  Yellow 


I— MOSSES 

Bog  Mosses  Syhagnaceae 

Common  Sphagnum 
Rock  Mosses  Andreaceae 

Andreacea 
True  Mosses  Bryinae 
Bryum  Giant 
Georgia 

Haircap  Common 

Juniper 

Slender 

Hypnum  Common 

Pinnate 


Mnium  Toothed 
Woodsy 
Mollia  Green 
Moss  Fern 

Fissiden's 

Plume 

Whitish  Rock 

Wiry  Fern 
Reveler  Triangular  Wood 
Webera  (very  rare) 

II — FERN  ALLIES 

Club  Mosses  Lycopodiaceae 
Christmas  Green  Trailing 
Club  Moss  Common 
Fir 

Shining 
Stiff 
Tree 
Adder's  Tongues  Ophioglossaceae 
Fern  Rattlesnake 
Common  Grape 
Dissected  Grape 
Matricary  Grape 
Ternate  Grape 
Horse-tails  Equisitaceae 
Horse-tail  Common  or  Field 

Swamp 
Rush  Common  Scouring 
Variegated  Scouring 

III — FERNS 

Fern  Family  Polypodiaceae 
Brake  Common 
Fern  Brittle 

Bulblet  Bladder 

Christmas 

Cut-leaved 

Hay-scented 

Lady 

Round-fruited 

Long  Beech 

Maiden-hair 

Oak 

Ostrich 

Polypody 

Sensitive 

Boot's  Shield 

Common  Spinulose'Shield 

Crested  Shield 

Evergreen  Shield  Marginal 

Goldie's  Shield 

Marsh  Shield 


580 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


New  York  Shield 
Spinulose  Shield 
Spleenwort  Ebony 

Narrow-leaved 
Silvery 
Woodsia  Rusty 
Flowering  Fern  Family  Somundaceae 
Fern  Cinnamon 

Clayton's  or  Interrupted 
Royal  or  Flowering 

TREES 

Beech  Family  Fagaceae 

American  Beech 

Black  Oak 

Chestnut  Oak 

Red  Oak 

Scarlet  Oak 

Swamp  White  Oak 

White  Oak 
Birch  Family  Betulaceae 

American  Canoe  Birch 

Black  Birch 

Yellow  Birch 

Speckled  Alder 

American  Hornbeam 

Hop  Hornbeam 
Cashew  Family  Anacardiaceae 

Staghorn  Sumach 

Velvet  Sumach 
Olive  Family  Oleaceae 

Black  Ash 

Red  Ash 

White  Ash 

Lilac 
Linden  Family  Tiliaceae 

American  Linden  Basswood 
Maple  Family  Aceraceae 

Box  Elder 

Red  Maple 

Rock  Maple  Sugar 

Sycamore  Maple 

Striped  Maple 

Mountain  Maple 

White  Maple 
Nettle  Family  Urticaceae 

American  Elm 

Slippery  Elm 

Hackberry 
Pine  Family  Pinaceae 

Red  Cedar 

Arbor  Vitae  (White  Cedar) 

Hemlock 


Balsam  Fir 

American  Larch 

Pitch  Pine 

Red  Pine 

White  Pine 

Red  Spruce 
Pulse  Family  Leguminoseae 

Common  Locust 

Honey  Locust 
Rose  Family  Rosaceae 

Apple  Thorn  Apple 

Choke  Cherry 

Black  Cherry 

Wild  Red  Cherry 

Canada  Plum 

Scarlet  Hawthorn 

Shad  Bush 

American  Mountain  Ash 
Willow  Family  Salicaceae 

American  Aspen 

Large-toothed  Aspen 

Balm-of-Gilead 

Lombardy  Poplar 

White  Poplar 

White  Willow 

Yellow  Willow 
Walnut  Family  Juglandaceae 

Butternut 

Witch  Hazel  Family  Hamamelidacea 
Witch  Hazel 


BIRDS 

Blackbirds  Icteridae 
Baltimore  Oriole 
Bobolink 

Boat-tailed  Grackle 
Bronzed  Grackle 
Cowbird 
Meadowlark 
Red-winged  Blackbird 
Rusty  Blackbird 

Chickadees  Paridae 
Chickadee 

Red-breasted  Nuthatch 
White- breasted  Nuthatch 
American  Pipit 

Creepers  Certhiidae 
Brown  Creeper 

Crows.  Jays,  etc.  Corvidae 
American  Crow 
Blue  Jay 
Canada  Jay  (rare) 


BIRDS 


581 


Cuckoos,  Coccyges 

Black-billed  Cuckoo 

Yellow-billed  Cuckoo  (rare^ 
Flycatchers  Tyrannidae 

Acadian  Flycatcher 

Great-crested  Flycatcher 

Kingbird 

Least  Flycatcher 

Olive-sided  Flycatcher 

Phoebe 

Traill's  Flycatcher 

Wood  Pewee 

Yellow-bellied  Flycatcher  (rare) 
Fowls  Gallinae 

Ruffed  Grouse 

Spruce  Grouse  (rare) 
Hawks,  Owls,  etc.  Raptores 

Bald  Eagle 

Golden  Eagle 

Broad-winged  Hawk 

Cooper's  Hawk 

Fish  Hawk 

Goshawk 

Marsh  Hawk 

Pigeon  Hawk 

Sharp-shinned  Hawk 

Sparrow  Hawk 

Red  tailed  Hawk 

Red-shouldered  Hawk 

Acadian  Owl 

Barn  Owl 

Barred  Owl 

Great  Gray  Owl  (rare) 

Great  Horned  Owl 

Long-eared  Owl 

Short-eared  Owl 

Saw  Whet  Owl 

Screech  Owl 

Richardson's  Owl 

Snowy  Owl 

Kingfishers  Alcedinidae 

Belted  Kingfisher 
Kinglets  Sylviidae 

Golden-crowned  Kinglet 

Ruby-crowned  Kinglet 

Larks  Alaudidae 
Horned  Lark 
Prairie  Horned  Lark 

Nighthawks,  etc.  Mac  ochire* 
Chimney  Swift 

Nighthawk 
Ruby-throated  Hummingbird 
Whip-poor-will 


Shrikes  Laniidae 

Logger-headed  Shrike . 

Northern  Shrike 
Sparrows  Fringillidae 

American  Crossbill 

White-winged  Crossbill 

Goldfinch 

Purple  Finch 

Junco 

Lapland  Ixmgspur 

Pine  Grosbeak 

Rose-breasted  Grosbeak 

Pine  Siskin 

Redpoll 

Indigo  Bunting 

Snow  Bunting 

Chipping  Sparrow 

Field  Sparrow 

Fox  Sparrow 

Grasshopper  Sparrow  (rare) 

House  Sparrow 

Song  Sparrow 

Savanna  Sparrow 

Swamp  Sparrow 

Tree  Sparrow 

Vesper  Sparrow 

White-crowned  Sparrow 

White-throated  Sparrow 
Swallows  Hirundinidae 

Bank  Swallow 

Barn  Swallow 

Eave  Swallow 

Tree  Swallow 

Purple  Martin 
Tanagers  Tanagridae 

Scarlet  Tanager 
Thrashers  Mimidae 

Brown  Thrasher  (rare) 

Catbird 
Thrushes  Turdidae 

American  Robin 

Bluebird 

Hermit  Thrush 

Olive-backed  Thrush 

Wilson's  Thrush 

Wood  Thrush  (rare) 

Vireos  Vireonidae 

Red-eyed  Vireo 

Yellow-throated  Vireo 

Warbling  Vireo 
Warblers  Mniotiltidae 

Black  and  White  Warbler 

Blackburnian  Warbler 

Black-throated  Blue  Warbler 

Black-throated  Green  Warbler 

Bay  breasted  Warbler 


582 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Canadian  Warbler 

Cape  May  Warbler 

Chestnut  sided  Warbler 

Hooded  Warbler 

Magnolia  Warbler 

Maryland  Yellowthroat 

Myrtle  Warbler 

Nashville  Warbler 

Ovenbird 

Parula  Warbler 

Pine  Warbler 

Prothonatory  Warbler 

Redstart 

Tennessee  Warbler 

Water  Thrush 

Yellow  Warbler 
Waxwings,  Bombycilidae 

Cedar  Waxwing 
Woodpeckers  Pici 

Downy  Woodpecker 

Flicker 

Hairy  Woodpecker 

Pileated  Woodpecker 

Red-headed  Woodpecker 

Yellow-bellied  Sapsucker 
Wrens  Troglodytidae 

House  Wren 

Winter  Wren 
Water  Birds 

Black  Duck 

Golden-eyed  Duck 

Wood  Duck 

Bittern 

American  Coot 

Pied-billed  Grebe 

Red-necked  Grebe 

Great  Blue  Heron 

Night  Heron 

American  Merganser 

American  Scoter 

Loon 

Woodcock 

Least  Sandpiper 

Solitary  Sandpiper 

Spotted  Sandpiper 

Wilson's  Snipe 

Killdeer 


ANIMALS 
I— CARNIVORA 


Say's 

Silver-haired 
2  Shrews 

Foster's 

Short-tailed 
2  Moles 

Brewer's 

Star-nosed 
4  Bear 

Black  Bear 
6  Raccoon 

Raccoon 

6  Weasel 

Ermine 

Fisher 

Marten 

Little  Brown  Mink 

Otter 

Skunk 

Small  Brown  Weasel 

7  Foxes 

Black  or  Silver  Fox 
Cross  Fox 
Red  Fox 
Cats 

Bay  Lynx 
Canada  Lynx 

II— RODENTIA 


Rats 


Muskrat 
Porcupine 
Common  Mouse 
Jumping  Mouse 
Meadow  Mouse 
White-footed  Mouse 
Brown 
Woodchuck 


2  Squirrels 

Gray 
Flying 
Red 
Striped 

3  Hedge  Hog 

4  Rabbit 

Cottontail 


III — RUMINANTES 


1  Bats 


Deer 


Cloinaar 
Hoary 


Common  Deer 
Moose  rare 


INDEX 


Academy- 

244-252,  417,  437-440 

Account   books,    old 

230-232 

Adams,  James,    85.    Mrs.  Submit 

37 

Address  list,  P.   0. 

453 

Agricultural  car 

271 

Agricultural  society,  county 

289 

Aldrich,    Asquire 

151 

Altitudes 

46 

Animals,  list  of 

582 

Anti-rum  agitation 

215 

Anti-slavery 

236-237,  242 

Appraisals,    225     Grand  Lists 

550 

Aqueduct 

301-302 

Arc   light   system 

464 

Archery 

404-405 

Arnold,  Mrs.  Alice  C 

79 

Arnold,  Jonathan 

16,  29-35,  59-63,  69-80,  104 

Arnold,  Josias  Lyndon 

72-75,  346 

Arnold,  Lemuel  H. 

76-78 

Arnold,  Mrs.  Susan  P. 

75 

Arnold,  William  C.  1st 

81,  168 

Art  Gallery 

323 

Ashes 

141-142 

Asisqua   Spring 

11,  480 

Athenaeum 

321-325,  417 

Athletics 

405 

Atlantic  Cable 

376-377 

Auntie  to  the  boys  of  1840 

357-358 

Australian  ballot 

550 

Avenue  House 

264 

Bakery 

481-482 

Ball  clubs,    159.    Ball  games 

405 

Bands,    339.    Band  Stands 

545 

Bank   bills 

370,  455,  458 

Banks 

455-459 

Banns,  proclamation  of 

214-215 

Baptism,  of  children 

129 

Barber,  Amaziah,  first  store 

195 

Barney,  George,    451.    John 

192 

Bass  viols 

337-338 

Bates,  Henry  C. 

382,  441-442 

Bears 

67,  164-165,  537 

Beasts,  miscellaneous 

537 

Bedouin  Arabs 

391-392 

Beecher,   Henry    Ward 

320,  360 

Bees,  social 

162-3 

Belknap    works 

152,  479 

Bells,    332-337.    Bell  Fair 

209 

584  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Bessborough 

14 

Biblo   Hill 

347-348 

Bingham,  J.  C. 

462 

Birds,    327.    List   of 

580-82 

Birthday  party 

63-64 

Births 

99-100,  573-4 

Black  Ruth 

\ 

61-63 

Blunt,  Asa  P. 

440-441 

Board  of  Trade 

492 

Boissonnault,  Rev.  Father 

294,  311,  328 

Bond  for  Court  House  site 

267 

Books 

238,  321 

Boy  and  girl  and  Indians 

204-205 

Brick  making 

140-141,  394,  406,  477 

Bridges 

48,  52,  181,  548 

Brightlook  Hospital 

329-331 

Bristol  Bill 

456 

Brown,  Frank 

197 

Buildings 

502-5,  543 

Burial  grounds 

107 

Buryal  ground,  The  old 

104-105 

Business  notes 

473-491 

Butler,  Major  Abel 

166-7,  168 

Cabinet    work 

145,  486 

Caledonia  County 

95 

Caledonian,   The 

219,  490,  526 

Camp  Baxter 

276-277 

Canal  project 

257 

Cannon,  Parrot 

546 

Carriages 

478,  271 

Catamount 

366,  537 

Catholic   churches 

310-311,  314 

Catholic  Societies 

294 

Cattle 

226,  539 

Cattle  Fairs 

200,  269 

Celebrations 

233-234 

Cemeteries 

468-472 

Census  of  1790,    54-55.    Of  1840 

225 

Centennial  observance,  national 

377 

Centre  Village,  roads,    51-52.    Stores, 

197-198. 

Taverns                  193-194 

Chadwick,  Albert  G. 

185,  219-221 

Chaise 

88,  557 

Chamberlin,  Lt.  Col.  Geo.  E. 

279-280 

Chamberlin  Post 

279,  288-289 

Charter,    18.    Fees 

17 

Chief   Justices 

433-437 

Chimney,  A. 

406 

Choral  Union 

339,  341 

Christmas,  first  observance 

137 

Chronicle   of   25   years 

526-533 

Church  bells,  332-336.  Buildings,  211-14, 

,  Records, 

,  214.  Usages          328-134 

Churches   of   St.  Johnsbury 

305-314 

Civil  war 

273-290,  428 

Clark  Bros,  141,  195.    Luther 

215 

INDEX  585 

Clearing  the  wilderness  29 

Clifford,  D.  A.  489 
Clocks                                                                                                     84,  163,  545 

Cloth-dressing  139-140 

Clover  seed  144-145 
Cobb,   Simeon                                                                                       163,  364-365 

Cobbler,  the  143-144 

Coins  407-408 
Colby,   Prof.   James  K.                                                                     246,  437-438 

Cold    summer  151,  513 

Cold   water   army  292-293 

Cole  Corner  91 

Colegate  Hill  91 

Colonial  mansion  205-206 

Combs,  hair  145 

Commercial   Club  493-494 

Company  D  289-290 

Convent  311 

Cook  stoves  154 

Cosmic  events  513-518 

Counting  room,  the  old  155 

Country  produce  202 
Court  House                                                                                          105-106,  267 

Crevecceur,  America  Frances  22-4 

Crevecoeur,  Lionel  25,  554 

Crevecceur,  Robert  25 

Crevecceur,  St.  John  22-28 

Danielou,   Rev.   S.  310-311 

Daughters  of  Am.  Rev.  496 

Day  of  Judgment  117-118 

Debating   cluba  235-238 

Depart  said  town  152 

Depot,  grounds  and  buildings  260 

Diary  of  1840  boy  231-232 

Directories  466 

Distances  46 

District  nurse  331 

Diversions  159 

Diving  flue  cook  stove  154 

Doctor  Jupiter  183-184 

Dog  Committee  125 

Doings  on  the  farm  198-200 

Domes  of  the  Yosemite  323 

Dunmore  15 

Ear-marks  66 

Earning  money,  story  118 

East  Village,    91-93.    Taverns  194-195 

East  Village  Valley  Road  52-54 
Edson  Tavern  82,  84,  165 
Educational                                                                                           244-256,  327 

Educators,   two  437-440 

Eighteen-hundred-forty  223-224 
Electric   lights                                                                                       398,  464,  488 

Elephants  399-40t 


586  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Ely  Hoe  and  Fork  Works  148,  473  474 

Engines,   factory  406-407 

Escapes,  Civil  war  282-285 

Excerpts    from    Caledonian,    August,    1837  221-222 

Fairbanks,  Edward  T.  563 

Fairbanks,  E.  &  T.  &  Co.  249 
Fairbanks,    Erastus                                                         92,  171,  273,  299,  414,  426 

Fairbanks,    Franklin  325-327,  417 

Fairbanks,  Henry  318,  417,  557 
Fairbanks,  Horace  321,  377,  379,  416,  429-431 
Fairbanks,  Major  Joseph  150,  151,  352,  411 
Fairbanks,  J.  P.  190,  238-239,  414,  446-447,  455 
Fairbanks,  Thaddeus                                   151,  154-155,    249,  353,  411-415,  556 

Fairbanks,  William  P.  417 

Fairbanks    Brothers          .  414-15 

Fairbanks  Mills,    150-52.    Scales  411-25 

Fairbanks  Village  school  120 

Fair   Grounds  268,  271 

Farmer's    Herald  184-190 

Farmer's   song  201 

Federal  Justices,  two  443-445 

Female    Academy  207-209 

Fenton,   Major    R.   W.  144,  165 

Ferguson,   Aunt   Polly  357-358,  542 

Ferns,  list  of  579 

Field    and    garden  534-537 

Fields  of  Bible  Hill,  poem  348 

File    works  479 

Fire  alarm  bell  337,  464 

Fire  engine  companies  296-299 

Fire    trucks  465 

Fire  works  171-172 

Fireman's    parade  297-8 

Fires,  destructive  520-25 
First   church                                                                                    124-128,  305,  556 

Fisheries,  U.  S.  Station  466-468 

Flag  First  168 

Floods,   destructive  518-520 

Flora  and  Fauna  574-82 

Flywheel  407 

Four  Corners  64,  81,  85 

Fraternal  orders  496-498 

Free  delivery  452 

Frost,  Edwin  B.  279 
Fuller,  Homer  T.                                                                             247-248,  438-440 

Furniture    makers  145,  486 

Gage,  F.  B.  488 

Galignani  239 

Garfield,  Pres.  382 

Gas  works  487-488 

Generals,  two  440-443 

Glebe  lands  18 

Golf  405-406 

Good-bye,  poem  410 


INDEX  587 

Goodell,  William  116,  358-359 

Goose  plucking  bees  162-163 

Goss,  David  86,  150 

Goss    Hollow  86-88,  150 

Governor's  war  proclamation  274 

Governors,  two  426-431 

Graded  Village  schools  252-256 

Grain  and  milling  business  474-476 

Grand  list  94-95,  550 

Grane  orders  103 

Grange  499 

Granite  work  477 

Grant,  Ex-President  383-384 

Grantees  17 

Great  raising  124-125 
Grist  mills                                                                                         146,  149,  151,  352 

Grout,  William  W.  441 

Halls,  public  340-344 

Harrison,  Pres.  William  Henry  232-233 

Harrison,  Pres.  Benj.  325,  384-386 

Hastings,   Cynthia  59-60 

Hastings,   Lambert  226-227 

Hawkins,    Stephen  88-89,  168 

Hawkins    horse  178-79 

Hemp  154 

Hens  538-539 

High  school  253 

Hoe    and    Fork    Co.  148,  473-474 

Home  for  Aged  Women  327 

Home  from  School,  poem  115 

Home   revisited  355-356 

Hooker,  O.  V.  &  Son  477 

Horseless  carriage  271 

Hospitals  328-331 

Hotels  262-266 

House,  First  36,  78-80 

House  at  Four  Corners  81 

Household  religion  130 

Houses,  Ten  96-97 

Husking  bee  161 

Ice  486-487 

Ide,  Elathan  65 
Ida,   Henry   C.                                                                          247,  382,  386,  443-44 

Ide,  John  65 

Ide  Library  241-242 

Ide  Mills  475 

Immigration  42-43 

Independence  Day  169-172 

Indians  12 

Industries,  early  138-158 

Inside   glimpses  212-213 

Iron  works  180,  476-477 

Japanese  Embassy  -  390-391 

Jewett,  Dr.  Calvin  165,  227 


588  TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 

Jewett,  Ephraim  137,  183,  196,  236,  451 

Jewett,  Dr.  Fayette  367-368 

Jewett,  Dr.  Hibbard  236 

Jewett,  Dr.  Luther  183-185 

Jewett,  Milo  P.  356-357 

Jewett  &  Brown  196 

Jumbo  400 

June  training  167-169 

Kennan,  George  320,  324,  549 

Kittredge,  Moses  196,  450 

Knapp,  Hiram  155-158 

Knights  of  Pythias  498 

Koords  367-368 

Laird  Bros.  477-478 

Lake  Road  262 

Lamson,  Dr.  C.  M.  325-326,  549 

Land  rights  19 

Landscape  paper  205 

Lawrence,  Dr.  Edward  A.  130 
Lawrence,  Hubbard                                                   128,  130,  134,  143,  211,  356 

Lawyers  483 

Leather  143  144 
Lecture  Course                                                                             237,  319-320,  342 

Lee,  Asa  67-68,  406 

Legendary  11 

Libraries,   early  238-243 

Library,  Public  321-325 

License,  votes  on  296 

Lieut.  Governors,  two  441-443 

Lincoln,  Abram  369-370,  381 

Literary  clubs  235-238 

Little,  Henry  352 

Little  House  of  Meeting  211-213 

Little  York  90 
Live  stock                                                                            226-227,  481,  539-540 

Local   Option  295-296 

Logan,  Gen.  John  A.  288-289 

Longevity  550 

Loom  397-398 

Lord,  Dr.  86,  154,  191 

Lumber  485 

Lyceums  235-238 

McKinley,  Pres.  384 

McLeod  Mills  474 

Mahogany  Quartette  339 

Mail  routes  and  carriers  174,  452 

Making  money,  story  118 

Maple  sugar  491 

Marble  work  477 

Marriages  98-99,  573-4 

Martin,  Hezekiah,  house  145,  207,  520 

Masons  496 

Mead,  Larkin  G.  286 

Meat  markets  481 


INDEX 

589 

Medical 

227-9,  482 

Meeting  Houses,  old 

121-126,  213,  340 

Meeting  House  on  Plain 

211-14,  306,  340,  543 

Meigs,    Return    Jonathan 

448-449 

Memorial    observances 

381-384 

Mercantile 

483-485 

Merchants,   early,     195-8.    Later 

483-5 

Merchants'  Association 

493 

Meridian  posts 

546-547 

Merrill,   Col.   Geo.  A. 

202,  432 

Militia 

167-168 

Milk 

480-481 

Mills,    early 

139-140,  145-152 

Morgan    horse 

v             178-180 

Mormons 

217-219 

Mortality,   per   cent 

573-4 

Moscow,  bell  of 

374-375 

Mosses,  list  of 

579 

Mother   to    the   boys   of  1820 

356 

Mount    Pleasant    Cemetery 

105,  468-470 

Museum    of   Natural   Science 

325-327,  418 

Music    and    musicians 

337-340 

Music   Hall 

318-320,  342 

Musket,  Cobb 

163-164 

Name   of   the   town,    21.    Variants 

550 

Nash,  Scout,  Journal  of 

13,  347 

New    Academy 

249-252 

New  Boston 

89 

New  Year's  receptions 

323 

Newspapers 

184,  219,  490 

Nightingale,  The  Orange 

64 

Nishan  El  Ifitikar 

392-394 

No-license 

296 

Notre  Dame  des  Victoires 

310-311 

Nurses'  Home 

330-331 

Observatory  Knob 

54S 

Odd   Fellows 

497-498 

Oil    lamps 

398 

Old    Daguerreen,    rhyme 

409-410 

Old   Grist  Mill 

352-353 

Old    Home   Week 

387-390 

Old   Passumpsic   Bank 

455-456 

Old  Pine  Tree,  poem 

512 

Old  Tippecanoe 

232 

Old   village   pump 

4U9 

Oxen 

540 

Paddock,  Judge  Ephraim 

160,  203-207,  238,  337 

Paddock,  Huxham 

147-148,  151 

Paddock,   John    H. 

178,  337-338 

Paddock  Iron  works 

1+7 

Pageant   of   St.  Johnsbury 

552-560 

Parades  and  tests 

297-298 

Parks 

506-509 

Parochial  schools 

311 

590 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Passumpsic   Kiver 

Pastors,  see  churches 

Patriotic  Bally  (1812),    165.     (1861) 

Pews,    sale   of 

Photography 

Physicians 

Piano,  first 

Piei 

Pioneer  and  slave 

Pioneering 

Pious  old  horse 

Plain  district 

Plants  and  Shrubs,  list  of 

Platform   scale 

Poland,  Judge  Luke  P. 

Politics,  Whig 

Population 

Post    Office 

Post    riders  / 

Postage 

Postmasters 

Potasheriea 

Potato 

Pottery 

Presidential  visits 

Prices  current 

Prohibitory  liquor  law 

Proprietor's   meeting 

Public   confessions 

Publications,  of  marriage 

Quelph   to   Mago 

Quill  wheel 

Quoit3 

Eailroads 

Baisings 

Bamsey's  Mills 

Eankin,  Andrew  E. 

Eeal    estate 

Redington,  E.  C. 

Eefrigerator,  invention  of 

Eegimental    flag 

Religion,    early 

Eeligious  organizations 

Eeligious   revivals 

Eeligious   service,   first 

Eemedies,  medical 

Eeminiscences 

Eepresentatives,  town,  list  of 

Ehymes,  village 

Eice,  Abel 

Eiver  terraces 

Eoads 

Eoberts,  H.  N.,  narrative 

Eoosevelt,  Ex-Pres. 


75,  345-7 

275 

124-125 

488-489 

227-228,  482 

205-206,  337 

536 

62 

29,  35-38 

134 

115-117 

574-579 

155,  411-425 

322,  366-367,  381,  383,  433-435,  483 

232-234 

94,  225,  550 

173,  448-454 

373-175 

174,  450 

448-454 

141-142 

38,  535-536 

144,  152 

384-3S7 

541 

295-6,  427 

19 

132-133 

98 

249-52,  350-51 

259 

160 

257-262,  377-380 

161 

146 

322,  432-433 

541-543 

455 

487 

277-279 

121-137 

305-317 

315-317 

36-37 

229 

352  358 

570 

408-410 

152,  192 

41-46 

48-54 

113,  150 

387 


INDEX 

591 

Boss,  Hon.  Jonathan 

399,  435-436,  483 

Rural  delivery 

452 

Sabbath  Bells,  poem 

336 

Sabbath,  observance  of 

131-133 

Saddlery  and   harness  making 

150 

St.  Johnsbury,  The 

380 

St.  Johnsbury  Hemp  Co. 

155 

St.  Johnsbury  Plain,  poem 

350 

Sangers'  Party,    63.    Mills 

90 

Scale,   Platform 

411-425 

School,    districts,    56-57.    Houses 

113,  117 

Lchool  records,  111,  115.    Reservations 

17 

Schools,  public 

109-120,  244-256 

Scouts,  Colonial 

12 

Selectmen,  list  of 

567 

Shave  horse 

142 

Sheep 

134,  226,  539 

Shire  town 

266 

Sickle,  story  of 

64-65 

Signing  for  a  pirate 

365-366 

Skating  park 

402-403 

Skooter,  the  St.  Johnsbury 

401-402 

Sleeper's  River 

35,  150 

Snow,  Erastus  Fairbanks 

217-219 

Soap 

142 

Soils 

43-44 

Soldiers'   Monument 

286-287 

Spanish   war 

289-290 

Spaulding  Neighborhood 

90-91,  119 

Spinning,    138.    Wheels 

147 

Sports   of   the   girls 

206-207 

Stafford,  Wendell  P. 

444-445 

Stage   coach 

176-177 

Stage  routes 

177-178 

Stanley,    Henry   M. 

320,  324,  549 

State  House,  at  the 

569 

Starch    factory 

142,  149-150 

Stark,  John 

12,  14,  347 

Stevens,  Henry,    60,  201;  also 

Preface 

Stevens,    Dr.   Morrill 

227-228 

Stevens,  Hon.  Thaddeus 

227 

Stiles    Pond 

92,  302 

Stone,  C.  M. 

220 

Stores 

195-198 

Stories 

59-68 

Stoves 

151,  154 

Street  lighting 

463-464 

Streets 

502-505,  547 

Summerville 

501-502,  255 

Sunset  Home 

327-328 

Surveys 

33 

Sweet  Caledon,  poem 

95 

Taft,  Pres. 

325,  386-387 

Tannery 

143 

592 


TOWN  OF  ST.  JOHNSBURY 


Taverns 
Telegraph 
Telephone 

Temperance   reform   and  societies 
Then  and  Now 

Thurston,  Pearson,  first  minister 
Tobogganing 
Tomahawk 
Town  liquor  agency 
Town  Hall 
Town  meeting,  first 

Town   ofiicers   in   1800,    96.    Total   list  of 
Town    records,    early- 
Town  votes  for  Governor 
Town  votes  for  President 
Transportation  teams 
Traverse-sled 
Trees 

Trees,  list  of 
Trescott,  Bill 
Tute,  Zibe 

Underground    railway 
Utilities 

Van    Buren,   Pres. 
Vassar   College 
Vegetables 
Vermont,   poem 
Village  of  St.  Johnsbury 
Vital  records— 1788-1800 
Vital  records— 1860-1910 
Wagon,  story  of  a 
Wagon-making 
War  of  1812 
Warned  out 
Water  pipes,  clay 
Water   supplies 
Water  troughs 
Wawhsuk  and  Imquk 
Weather 
Weaving 
Webster,  Daniel 
Wheeler,  Gardner 
Whigs  of  1840 
White  man,  the  first 
Whitelaw,  Gen.  James 
Wing  children 
Winter  sports 
Wireless  telegraph 
Woman's  Club 
Woodpecker  petition 
Young  Men's  Catholic  Library  Assoc. 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association 


268, 


41, 


191 

459-461 

461-463 

215-17,  291-5 

562 

128,  556 

403-404 

12 

295 

340,  530 

47-48 

564-569 

100-103 

570-72 

572 

180-181 

402 

509-512 

580 

375-176 

124,  366 

146-147 

448-466 

232-233 

357 

534-537 

445 

500-501 

98 

573 

395-397 

151 

165-167 

152-153 

299-300 

301-304 

545 

11 

513 

138-39 

184 

64-65 

232-234 

13 

34 

129 

401-404 

463 

494-496 

53-53 

243 

317-320 


831, 


Total  Pages,  including  Plates,  604 


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